Renegade: The Missing Hokage
by TheDogSage
Summary: My take on the PL's Missing Hokage Challange. When forced by the council to banish Uzumaki Naruto, Tsunade makes a decision that will shake Konoha to the core. Read as our favorite blondes, joined by some unexepected allies, take the world by storm. R/R
1. The Council

I do not now, nor have I ever owned Naruto.

A/N: Welcome to Chapter 1 of my attempt at Perfect Lionheart's "The Missing Hokage" challenge. When I saw that there was a challenge issued, I tried to resist. I tried to fight the temptation to engage in battle. But alas, in the end, I was pulled in, and now my mighty electronic pen is drawn, ready to take the challenge set forth by PL...

*Puts on army helmet, draws claymore, and gets bagpipes ready*

I love the smell of fanfic in the morning!

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Chocolate brown eyes took in the people assembled around the table, the head of their owner resting on a fist which was propped on the arm of a chair. They were the 'Council of Konoha', and they consisted of clan heads and important civilians within Konoha. Alongside them were Sandaime's former teammates Homura and Koharu, as well as Danzou, a skilled diplomat, crippled war hawk, and most importantly, irritating thorn in the side of the Hokage and Konoha's beliefs. Of course any gathering of the useless would be considered incomplete without these three, the 'Village Elders', or as Tsunade called them, the 'Village Ingrown Toenails'.

'Why in the Hell did you ever create the Council of Konoha grandpa?' Tsunade thought, then sighed softly as she remembered that it had been need to ensure that the fledgling village would survive its founding. It had been a necessary evil when it had been made, because all the work that went into creating the village required so much of Hashirama's attention that he needed as much help as he could get. And being the kind of man he was, he allowed the clans and civilians to make it up, so that a wider array of problems were taken care of and different sectors had a voice in Konoha's creation.

Unfortunately, by the time the council was no longer necessary and was to be disbanded, they had burrowed deep, creating laws to keep the council together and able to keep as much power as possible. Hashirama did what he could to limit that power, but much like himself, they were shrewd manipulators, skills born from before Konoha was a gleam in the eye of either Uchiha or Senju, and he was forced to give enough to keep them satisfied.

Tobirama, Hiruzen, and Minato were thus forced to deal with increasingly greedy and power-hungry men and women, working to try and undermine the Hokage and gain more power for themselves and their clan. The worst was the old warhawk Danzou, who was like an inoperable tumor of Konoha, always spreading, infecting wherever he could, his disease spreading through the wood of the tree, causing decay and death wherever it touched...

"Tsunade-sama." the voice of Kohaku broke through the woman's thoughts, bored brown eyes turning to the elderly woman as she asked "What is it Kohaku? Have the hens finally stopped clucking about inconsequential nonsense and ended the pointless pissing contests? Can the ninja actually get to work now?"

The civilians scowled at her as several clan heads laughed, with Chouza's deep laugh echoing throughout the meeting room, accompanied by the barking laughter of Tsume. Shikaku and Inoichi merely smiled and chuckled respectively, Shibi's kikaichuu buzzing lightly, sounding pleased by her words. She noted that some of the clan heads, particularly Hiashi, were also scowling, recognizing the dig against him and others.

"Yes... Well, on to business." Homura said, trying to bring the room under some semblance of order after Tsunade's remarks.

"Of course." Tsunade said, straightening up and folding her hands on the table, her appearance more business-like than before. Nodding to the Godaime Hokage, Kohaku picked up a small stack of papers and began going through them. She knew that she had to be careful with how they went about this, since their plan was treading on thin ice with the Hokage.

But not going through with it would bring an angry Uchiha Itachi down upon herself, Danzou, and Homura for the events surrounding the Uchiha Massacre. And Konoha, despite its strength, could not keep him from getting his vengeance upon them. So was in their best interest to appease the man before he comes after them.

Adjusting her reading glasses, she looked at the first piece of paperwork and spoke aloud "Our first order of business deals with the proposal of a man wishing to start a new, shinobi-only book store..."

Due to years of experience, Tsunade managed to keep the appearance of attentiveness as the council went over the business for the day. Most of it was civilian matters or trivial ninja matters, mostly involving personal complaints and grievances, which rested under the council's jurisdiction. Thus, she was able to allow her mind to drift without worry, only having to appear attentive. And this was something she was incredibly skilled at, having been a high-ranking shinobi for years before her self-imposed exile.

And even then, she was able to get plenty of practice while listening to her assistant and apprentice Shizune fret and worry over their financial matters.

As various orders of business were passed around for the council to discuss, the Godaime Hokage's mind drifted to the blonde who had first convinced her to return to the village in the first place: Uzumaki Naruto. Despite intitial distaste for the blonde, he had managed to break through the barrier surrounding her heart, allowing her to finally trust and care for another again.

Looking at him, she saw the indominable spirit and heart of her lover Dan and little brother Nawaki in him, the 'will of fire', if you will. Lately, she had often found herself wondering should either have had lived, would she have nephew or son like him. Smiling internally, she realized that if she'd had a son, he would indeed be like the energetic, ramen-addicted boy she cared for.

Even his nickname for her, 'Baa-chan', was growing on her, and increasingly she was seeing the young shinobi as a grandson, much like Sarutobi-sensei had before her. It seemed that, given a chance, the boy could bring the best out of you and make you love him in spite of yourself.

"... Pardon of Uchiha Sasuke..."

Tsunade was forced from her thoughts at hearing those words, eyes turning to Kohaku as the council erupted. The civilians were cheering for such a thing to happen, while most of the ninja were enraged at the thought of pardoning a traitor.

"Enough!" Tsunade barked, and at once the room went deathly quiet. Tsunade might be considered a gambling lush, but she was still Hokage, and still had the strength to crush skulls like most people crush roaches beneath their shoe. And such strength was respected by civilian and ninja, no matter who wielded it.

"Now, why may I ask are we even considering pardoning a traitor to Konoha, one who planned to run to Orochimaru, the murderer of the Sandaime Hokage, and whose defection caused severe injury to six _loyal_ ninja?" Tsunade asked, and Kohaku new that the emphasis on the word loyal was no accident.

"Well, Hokage-sama, it seems that there were extinuating circumstances involving the curse seal he had recieved from Orochimaru and its effects on him." Kohaku said, treading carefully over the subject.

"Such as?" Tsunade asked, her tone was low and calm, but she was giving off the aura of a predator stalking its unwary pray, crouched and ready to pounce at the opportune moment.

"Well, exams of both seal and child have shown that its effects on his body and mental state are quite pronounced." Kohaku said, and Tsunade raised an eyebrow as she replied "I'd heard that it had been effectively sealed by the boy's Jounin sensei not a couple days after he had recieved it. From my understanding, it takes longer than that for pronounced effects to be had."

"O-of course, Hokage-sama..." Kohaku agreed, and Tsunade nodded as she continued "And that the seal placed by one Hatake Kakashi was based around the willpower of the person the seal was on. Which means that for the seal Orochimaru gave him to have affected the boy at all, much like it did during his battle against genin Uzumaki Naruto at the 'Valley of the End', then he must be weak-willed. Something a shinobi should not be."

"However, his contact with one Uchiha Itachi in Tanzaku Town had negative effects on the mind of the boy, and weakened his will enough for the seal to take advantage." Kohaku said, and Tsunade retorted "But Uchiha Sasuke should not have been in Tanzaku Town in the first place to meet up with his brother, since he had no permission to leave the village at that time. He left of his own free will to locate and confront Uchiha Itachi, an act most would consider 'suicidal' at best. The fact the child got away with but a broken arm and placed under the Tsukiyomi is a miracle."

"Of course, Hokage-sama, that has been taken into account. And while we wish to pardon Uchiha Sasuke, we also want to revoke his rights and privilages as a shinobi, leaving him a civilian. We will also have a tracking seal placed on him to ensure he does not attempt to defect to Orochimaru again." Kohaku said, and Tsunade studied the elderly woman as she asked "Why do you care so much for one genin?"

"Because, Hokage-sama," Danzou took over for Kohaku, and Tsunade's predatory brown eyes turned to him as he explained "The Uchiha's Sharingan is too valuable for us to lose, and having him locked away will cause such a resource to be lost forever."

"I believe that would be no great loss." Hiashi stated, and Danzou turned to the Hyuuga head as he said "You would believe that, Hiashi-sama. The feud between the Hyuuga and the Uchiha clans is well-recorded both before and after the creation of the village. However, just because you believe that, does not make it true."

"I do. All it does is create arrogant and untrustworthy shinobi, who believe their personal wants deserve to be placed above the good of the village. A belief that is not tempered by the civilians, nor unfortunately by the previous Hokage, as his actions at the last Chuunin exam showed." Inoichi said, and Danzou looked toward the blonde man as he asked "How do you mean, Inoichi-sama?"

"I mean that the Uchiha was allowed to be over an hour late, something that must not be tolerated, and most certainly would not have been if it had been Shikamaru-kun, Gaara-san, or especially Uzumaki-san." Inoichi said, and the civilian council let their thoughts be vocally known about the Uzumaki boy, which allowed the 'Village Elders' a temporary smirk at their reaction.

"QUIET!" Tsunade yelled, and looked toward the Elders as she asked "So, you wish for Uchiha Sasuke to be rendered a civilian of Konoha, with a tracking seal placed on him to make sure he doesn't attempt to escape again, so he can reproduce and give us more little Uchihas?"

At seeing their nods, she sighed, and closing her eyes she said "Very well. Despite my best judgement, I shall allow it... _Only_ on the condition that he submits to proper psychological evaluation, then recieves the emotional and psychological help he needed but was denied after the Uchiha Massacre. Also, I want Jiraiya to properly seal that horrid cursed mark, and to seal off all his chakra but that which his body requires to survive so that he will offer less of a threat to others."

They nodded in agreement with this, and Danzou said "Now, about the Kyuubi child..."

The killing intent radiating off the Hokage caused the civilians to begin gasping as they found themselves short of breath and even the shinobi were sweating slightly. Danzou felt an uncomfortable tightness in his chest from it, and a chill ran down his spine, not unlike someone was dancing on his grave, as he heard the female Hokage ask "What about Uzumaki Naruto?"

"According to ANBU reports from the Valley of the End, there was a large amount of the Kyuubi's chakra permeating the area shortly after the battle." Danzou said, a low murmur beginning to sound from the civilians.

"A necessary evil for Uzumaki Naruto to combat the cursed mark wielded by Uchiha Sasuke. It was no accident nor was it a sign of the seal weakening, Danzou. It was a defense mechanism placed there by the Yondaime Hokage in case of emergencies to protect Naruto and ensure his continued existance, as well as ensure the Kyuubi does not escape upon his death." Tsunade retorted, and Danzou asked "How can we be so sure of that?"

"Because the Yondaime wrote that down himself within the scroll bearing the Shiki Fuin, and has been supported by his teacher, Jiraiya. If we cannot trust the work of two of the greatest seal masters to ever exist, then who shall we trust? Homura and Kohaku? Or maybe you and your Root?" Tsunade asked, and Danzou scowled as he said "You know that Root was disbanded by the foolish Sandaime Hokage years..."

"Bullshit Danzou. Noone honestly believes that, especially not the Jounin who see 'ANBU' in Konoha bearing the Ni kanji upon their mask." Tsunade replied, and Danzou's scowl deepened as he said "We are not here to discuss a defunct organization Tsunade-sama. We are here to discuss Uzumaki Naruto and the danger he presents to Konoha."

"Which we both know is none, Danzou. As stated before, the seal placed on Naruto was a collaboration of both Jiraiya and Namikaze Minato, two of the greatest seal masters to ever exist. To doubt the seal is to doubt them, something I refuse to allow happen. Minato's genius is touted in the streets by shinobi and civilian alike, and that seal is a work of that genius." Tsunade replied, and Danzou said "But it is 12 years old. Surely degeneration can happen to even the greatest seals..."

"That is why Jiraiya, Minato's teacher and a seal master of his calibre, inspects it every so often to ensure that degeneration has not happened. If such a thing has happened, then Jiraiya can easily repair it before it becomes dangerous to Konoha. And Uzumaki Naruto is one of the most loyal shinobi to ever live, so we do not need to worry about him being a threat to us either." Tsunade countered, and Danzou's jaw clenched as that door was shut before he could enter it.

"How can we be so assured of his loyalty, Tsunade-sama?" one of the civilians asked, and Tsunade said "Because he has never once shown any sign of betraying Konoha, unlike Uchiha Sasuke. He has protected us from danger time and again, even doing so since birth by holding back the Kyuubi. He wishes to have acknowledgement from the people of Konoha, to earn their respect. If he were not loyal to our village and its people, then he would not have such hopes. Only the Inuzuka clan can rival his loyalty to our village."

"But..."

"Enough!" Tsunade growled, adding "We are not here to discuss Uzumaki Naruto, a loyal Konoha shinobi who, along with the rest of a team put together by Shikamaru and aided by the children of the late Kazekage, went above and beyond the call of duty and accomplished a mission that would have given Jounin trouble."

"I am merely concerned with the safety of Konoha and its people, as is the Daimyo." Danzou calmly said, and Tsunade's eyes narrowed dangerously as she asked "And why exactly are you bringing him up?"

"Merely because the day after the Uchiha incident, I sent the Daimyo the reports gathered by ANBU and asked for his input. He says that he agrees with Kohaku, Homura, and myself on the subject of genin Uzumaki Naruto. I just hoped that we could get you to see the light concerning the jinchuuriki, but unfortunately it seems your personal feelings for the child are clouding your judgement..."

"HOW DARE YOU!?"

All eyes suddenly turned to the dark haired Inuzuka matriarch, even a stunned Tsunade, who had risen to her feet and looked about moments from leaping at the 'Village Elders' and ripping their throats out with her teeth.

"What do you mean, Inuzuka-san?" Danzou asked, and Tsume felt her hackles rise as she growled "I mean that you have gone behind the back of our leader and undermined her authority!"

"For the good of the village only, Inuzuka-san." Danzou replied, but this time Shikaku spoke up and said "Bullshit. From what I've seen and heard from my son, Uzumaki Naruto is not a danger to our village nor its people. He has been nothing but loyal to both in a situation that most would have long since betrayed up, if the reports and rumors I've heard."

"Lo-loyal, with all those pranks he's pulled!?" a civilian asked, and Shibi answered "Observation by both myself and my clan seem to indicate that those pranks were merely a cry for attention in an enviroment where he was all but denied acknowledgement of any form. For a child in their most formulative stage of life, such acts are normally seen as cruel to the point of emotional abuse, but it seems they were 'overlooked' in his case. The fact he only pulled harmless jokes upon the people who denied him his very right to exist speaks highly of his mental and emotional fortitude."

"That is but your _sympathetic_ opinion, Aburame-san." Kohaku said, then continued "However, it seems that the Daimyo isn't quite willing to take complete control from the Hokage and Council. He has agreed to endorse whatever decision the Council reaches. But seeing as we are not completely heartless, we won't ask for execution."

"How very generous of you." Tsunade growled, and Homura asked "All those in favor of the banishment of genin Uzumaki Naruto from the ranks of Konohagakure?"

Tsunade felt her heart drop and her skin pale as the entire civilian half of the council, the 'Village Elders', Hiashi, and two of the minor clans raised their hands. That right there sealed the innocent blonde's fate.

"And all those against?"

Tsunade raised her hand, as did Shibi, Shikaku, Inoichi, Tsume, Chouza, and the remaining minor clan.

Forcing herself to hide her pleased smile, Kohaku pushed herself onto her feet and said "By a vote of 13 to 7, the council, with the full backing of the Daimyo of Hi no Kuni, do hearby banish genin Uzumaki Naruto. He is to be outside the walls of Konohagakure no Sato within the next 72 hours, or he will be considered a threat to the village and executed as one."

"With this vote, the business of the Council is finished for the day, and are excused." Danzou said as he rose himself. The civilian side of the council, along with Hiashi and the two minor clans, all rose as one, a feeling of pride swelling in their chests from ridding the village of Konohagakure of the 'Kyuubi child'. As they marched out, Kohaku, Homura, and Danzou sent the Godaime Hokage a smug look that clearly sent the message 'We run things around here now' before exiting themselves.

"I am sorry for this, Hokage-sama. Uzumaki Naruto was a loyal nin of Konoha, and it is a shame to lose one so loyal for a traitor." Shibi said as he rose to his feet. Similar sentiments were given by the Ino-Shika-Cho trio and the minor clan head before they exited, leaving Tsunade and Tsume alone.

Looking to the despondant Tsunade, Tsume sighed as she said "I'm sorry for this, Hokage-sama. I must say that I've grown rather fond of the blonde pup, and the tale of how he defeated Kiba in the prelims of the Chuunin exam caused me to damn near wet myself with laughter."

Looking to the table, Tsume asked "What are you going to do about him?" After several moments of silence from their leader, Tsume turned to ask what was wrong, but stopped as she saw the look on the blonde Hokage's face. It was similar to the one the Sandaime used to get when he was planning to be devious, especially when he knew it would twist the panties of people who thought they'd gotten one over on him.

A shiver shot up the Inuzuka head's spine, and she had a feeling that whatever was about to happen would shake the village to the core.

"Tsume..."

"Yes Hokage-sama?"

"Are you pondering what I'm pondering."

Tsume slowly matched the woman's smile, and said "I believe so, Hokage-sama. And if I indeed am, then all I can say is... I want in."

Looking at the Inuzuka head, Tsunade's smile grew as she said "Good, Tsume-chan. Now, all we need is Shizune, and our plan can begin."

Once again the shiver shot up her spine, and somehow Tsume knew that this was going to be something that will be remembered for generations to come.


	2. Hospital Talk

I do not now, nor have I ever owned Naruto.

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In a clean white hospital room, Naruto laid on his belly wrapped in bandages, arms splayed over the bed's railings as he snored softly, drool pooling beside his face. Blankets laid on the floor at the foot of the bed, kicked there during the night while the blonde twisted and turned to get comfortable. Next to the bed stood Sakura, who looked rather uncomfortable at the state her friend was in.

"Naruto..." Sakura said softly, gently prodding his shoulder. In response, the blonde grumbled something in jibberish and waved his arm weakly in an attempt to get her to leave.

"Naruto..." Sakura spoke slightly louder with a more firm prod, her former discomfort being replaced by annoyance with Naruto's obvious deep sleep. A more annoyed grumble of jibberish, and another wave of his arm was his response.

"Naruto." Sakura said and jabbed his shoulder, her discomfort all but replaced by annoyance now. And in response the blonde grumbled the barely intelligable 'Nah naw, 'Kura-chan, s'eepin'. 'Ack 'ater.' as his arm waved again.

Sakura sighed and gently patted Naruto's bandaged head, her frown finding itself replaced by a soft smile as she said "Alright then. I'll go see if Sasuke-kun is up to having visitors yet." Turning to leave Naruto to his well-deserved sleep, she looked back at his prone form and said "By the way... Thank you Naruto."

Leaving the room, she sighed as she leaned back on the door and thought _'What's this feeling in my stomach? It kind of feels like what I feel for Sasuke-kun, but not quite... Maybe its gratitude to Naruto for bringing back Sasuke-kun. Or maybe its what you would feel for a brother. Yeah, that's it.'_

_**'Or maybe it's because you want to go back there and ride that sexy blonde like you stole him!'**_ came the unwanted opinion of 'Inner' Sakura, causing the pinkette's eyes to widen in shock, a bright blush adorning her cheeks as she quickly thought _'Sh-shut up! It's not that at all! He's a dear friend and nothing else!'_

_**'Yeah yeah, you keep telling yourself that, but we both know the truth. You're tired of the cold, distant disdain of the Uchiha and want a man who'll make you feel like a lady... Like the previously mentioned sexy blonde.'**_

_'Sasuke's not like that! He's...'_ Sakura began, but the voice broke in and said _**'I know, I know. He's actually a kind, caring person under that tough exterior. I'm beginning to doubt that even Tsunade-sama's strength could break through that exterior, if it is just an exterior. You keep chasing him like a beaten puppy looking for table scraps. Meanwhile you've got a seven-course meal of a blonde who all but worships you. And if you're not careful, he's gonna get snapped up by someone else, like maybe Hinata.'**_

_**'Mmm, you know, from what we've seen during our trips to the hot springs, Hinata's not bad looking. Sexy even. I bet we could really make her squirm...'**_ began 'Inner' Sakura, but the pinkette's eyes widened in horror as she thought _'No way! I am not that way!'_

She purposely ignored the disagreement from her inner self as she quickly walked away from Naruto's room. She was so deep in her own thoughts that she almost crashed into someone walking down the hall.

"Excuse me..." Sakura muttered, and a soft voice replied "I-it's ok, Sakura-san."

"Hinata? Wh-what are you doing here?" Sakura asked as she looked to the other person, and saw the familiar form of the midnight-haired Hyuuga heiress, holding a vase of flowers close to her chest. Her argument with her 'inner' self came to the forefront of her mind, and she felt a light blush adorn her cheeks.

"I was visiting Kiba-kun, Neji-nii-san, Shikamaru-san, and Chouji-san. I w-w-was just coming t-to see Na-Naruto-kun." she replied softly, stuttering heavily as she told the blonde's teammate her last stop.

"Oh." Sakura said, adding "He's asleep right now..."

"Th-that's OK. I-I wasn't going t-to be long a-anyways..." Hinata replied, and Sakura noticed the vase of flowers in the Hyuuga's arms, and a delicate eyebrow rose as she asked "Are those for Naruto?" This simple question caused Hinata's face to turn a dark red as she nodded, looking down at the tiled floor.

Giving the midnight-haired girl a reassuring smile, the pinkette said "I'm sure he'll love them." Hinata merely gave another small nod and continued down the hall toward Naruto's room. Turning to watch the girl walk down the hallway, Sakura's green eyes found their way to her shapely backside. Realizing where she was looking, Sakura quickly turned, her face a deep shade of red, gritting her teeth, arms crossed over her chest.

_'Wh-what the Hell was that?!'_ Sakura thought, shaking her head to get the image of Hinata's backside out of her mind, and in the back of her mind she heard her 'inner' self smugly say _**'Told ya so.'**_

_'Shut up!'_

"Forehead! There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Turning, Sakura blinked at the distraught look on her friend's face as the light blonde stopped before her, eyebrows rising as she asked "Why've you been looking for me, Ino-pig?"

"You mean you haven't heard?" Ino asked, and Sakura shook her head. Frowning, Ino said "Well, my dad came home from a meeting this morning, and he told me the council's made some decisions."

"About Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, and Ino nodded as she said "About him and Naruto."

"Naruto? Why would the council care about him?" the pinkette asked, and Ino replied "I don't know. But they apparently decided to banish him from Konoha."

"WHAT?!" Sakura cried, forgetting Sasuke for the moment as Ino said "Yeah. Dad won't tell me why, but he was upset about it!"

"Bu-but Tsunade-sama..." Sakura muttered, and Ino merely gave a hopeless shrug in reply. "I-I need to go see Tsunade-sama..." Sakura decided, turning and running down the hallway as Ino sighed and looked to the ceiling, wondering _'What's so important about the dobe anyways?'_

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Gently shutting the door behind her, Hinata looked to the sleeping blonde, a light blush accompanying the gentle smile on her face at how bonelessly comfortable he managed to looked sleeping in spite of his uncomfortable-looking position. Walking to the bed, she carefully placed the vase of flowers on his bedside table and sighed, turning to leave the room and let the blonde sleep.

"'Nata-chan?" came the sleep-laiden voice of the blonde, causing the Hyuuga heiress to stop, her face darkening as she turned and bowed low, murmuring "So-sorry for wah-waking y-you, Na-Na-Naruto-kun..."

"S'alright..." Naruto replied sleepily as he rolled over and sat up, rubbing an eye childishly with a jaw-cracking yawn. Blinking his eyes owlishly, he looked at Hinata and asked "Was Sakura-chan here? I could have sworn I heard her talking to me."

"S-she w-was, bu-but you w-were sleeping." Hinata murmured, and Naruto nodded as he said "OK." Looking around the room, the blonde took sight of a chair and waved to it with a bandaged arm as he said "Pull up a chair and talk to me for a while, Hinata! I'd get the chair myself, but... well... Baachan gets mad when I get out of bed."

"N-n-no, it's O-Ok..." the pale-eyed girl murmured, grabbing a chair and pulling it close, the legs scraping against the linolieum as she did so. Taking a seat, she looked to her hands, where her index fingers were pressing against one another, and Naruto looked around his room, taking in the unadorned white walls as he tried to ignore the smell of antisceptic permeating the air.

Noticing the flowers on the bedside table, Naruto asked "So, did you bring the flowers?"

"Y-y-yes..." Hinata replied, and the blonde gave her a smile as he said "Thanks a lot Hinata-chan, they're nice. And it gives me something pretty to look at."

"Y-yo-you're we-welcome..." Hinata managed, not daring to look up at him, lest he see her embarrassing blush. Instead, she carefully studied her index fingers as they pressed together.

"So... wanna get some ramen together later?" Naruto asked, and Hinata actually looked up, studying his bandaged body as she asked "Bu-but di-didn't y-you sa-say Tsu-Tsunade-sama wha-wants ya-you to sta-stay? Ah-all th-those bah-bandages..."

Waving off her concern, Naruto grinned and said "Nah. I was good enough to go home yesterday, but Tsunade-baachan just wanted me to stay overnight for 'observation'. I personally think she finds it funny to force me to lay in this bed, counting the holes in the ceiling. And the bandages are... well... I don't know why I'm still bandaged. Probably just overreaction, since I've never been this wrapped up before."

"O-oh..." Hinata murmured, a small smile crossing her face as she continued "O-OK."

"OK what?" Naruto asked, and Hinata replied "Go-going fo-for rah-ramen la-later."

"Cool." Naruto replied with a wide smile to the girl, which slowly drooped into a frown, his eyes shining with concern as he asked "So... are the others... alright?"

She gave him a smile that allowed him a relieved sigh as she answered "Ye-yes. Ne-Neji-nii-san and Ch-Chouji-san we-were in ba-bad shape, bu-but Ts-Tsunade-sama sa-saved them."

"Good ol' baachan, she can do anything." Naruto stated with confidence, and the pale-eyed girl gave an affirmative nod as she said "H-hai."

"And I was awesome on the mission! I mean, Chouji, Neji, Shikamaru, and Neji were good, but I was great!" Naruto said with a wide grin, chest puffed out with pride. Giggling into her hand, Hinata found the sight before her too adorable for words.

"How about I tell you about my awesomeness while we wait for baa-chan to come release me?" Naruto asked. Still smiling softly, the eldest daughter of Hyuuga Hiashi nodded softly, awaiting the tale of bravery and selflessness with her handsome Naruto-kun as the dashing hero.

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Hatake Kakashi scowled beneath his mask as he stood inside Sasuke's hospital room, watching the second-to-last last Uchiha lay silent and still, under a forced sleep jutsu lest he 'make another escape attempt' or some such nonsense. Kakashi stared at the boy he had come to care for like a son, the boy he gave everything to, and yet it wasn't enough.

For a moment, and only a moment, he wondered if it was his fault.

But he quickly shook his head, ridding his mind of those traitorous thoughts. He knew, knew it wasn't his fault. It wasn't Sasuke's fault either. There was only one person at fault for his attempt to go missing-nin. And that was the Uchiha's 'teammate', Uzumaki Naruto. Each member of Team Seven had a very important and critical role in their cell. Sasuke was supposed to be the prodigy, Kakashi's crowning achievement as a teacher, something the Uchiha was living up to. Sakura was supposed to be Sasuke's cheerleader, keeping his spirits up and lavishing the Uchiha with praise, a position she was going above and beyond to do.

And Naruto was supposed to be Sasuke's 'rival' without actually rivaling him. He was supposed to be the Uchiha's own punching bag, always weak, never equaling, or heaven forbid, surpassing the Sharingan user. But in spite of all his attempts to undermine the jinchuuriki's training, to keep him weak, he somehow managed to overcome those obstacles. Never training the blonde, making sure he did nothing but d-ranks, he did his best.

Even after he somehow made it past the Chuunin exam prelims, he still managed to put a large roadblock before the blonde. He'd 'convinced' Ebisu, a man who supposedly hated the blonde, to 'train' him. In actuality, Ebisu was supposed to only have him work on 'chakra training', not actually teach him anything.

But then the blonde somehow managed to bump into Jiraiya and convince the Sannin to train him. And train him the man did, to the point the blonde actually managed to outshine Sasuke during the Invasion, even defeating his fellow Jinchuuriki Gaara.

If that weren't enough, the old pervert actually taught the blonde the Rasengan, a technique created by his sensei Minato. When he found out, he'd been enraged, knowing the Rasengan to be equal to his own Chidori, meaning that the blonde was EQUAL to Sasuke.

Mow... Now the blonde had a victory over Sasuke, meaning that his _son_ was defeated by his 'rival'. Kakashi's blood boiled at the very thought that he'd managed to fail not only Sasuke, but also Obito and the memory of his fellow Uchihas. And furthermore, that bitch of a Hokage had stripped Sasuke of his shinobi rank, resigning the last Uchiha, his son, to the existance of a civilian.

How DARE she?!

Reaching out, he gently stroked Sasuke's hair as he said "Don't worry, Sasuke. The council will fix this, and I'll be training you again soon."

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Shizune looked up from the rolled-up scroll that held several 'official' orders from the Godaime Hokage and looked to the buxom blonde with concern as she asked "Are you sure this is a good idea, Tsunade-sama? I mean, won't this enrage the Council and Village Elders?"

A bark of a laugh sounded from the third woman in the room as Tsume answered "Of course its going to enrage them! That's the entire point! They're trying to push the Hokage around and bring her to heel like she's their show bitch, and using the pup as a show of power. This is merely to show those bastards that Tsunade isn't just Hokage, she's the alpha and they're subordinate to HER, not the other way around! You fuck with her, and she'll prove her alpha status!"

"Couldn't have put it better myself, Tsume." Tsunade said with a smile.

"I live to serve the alpha of my pack even if noone else will, Hokage-sama." Tsume said as she leaned back in her seat, Shizune sighing as she said "I wish I could be so confident, Tsunade-sama."

"Don't worry about it Shizune. If it gets too bad, you can claim ignorance and following the orders of your leader. People have been forgiven of worse crimes under that excuse." Tsunade said as she patted the youngest of the trio comfortingly on the arm.

"I know... I just wish there was another way." Shizune replied, and Tsunade answered "I do too. But those bastards were smart, believing they made they've won one over me. They know I care for the blonde, and see banishing Naruto from Konoha as a sign of their 'power' over me, possibly bringing me to heel as their own figurehead in a puppet government... And it might have worked, too. Except they forgot one thing."

"And what is that?" Shizune asked, and Tsunade's smile grew wider as she said "That I'm not afraid to pack up and leave their bullshit politicking in the dust. If they want to play these 'games', then we'll play their games. But I ain't going to play personally."

Picking up the scroll, she waved it and said "I'm bringing in a ringer, a master manipulator, someone whose spent the better part of a decade doing this stuff on a scale those fools can't comprehend."

"If he'll do it." Tsume said, and Tsunade replied "He'll do it. Trust me, that man can be as petty and vindictive as me when angered. And this scroll is going to let him put that twisted mind to good use in repaying 13 years of social isolation and emotional abuse."

Their conversation was interrupted by the intercom crackling to life, and the voice of her secretary speaking through it "Excuse me, Godaime-sama. But there is a Genin by the name of Haruno Sakura here wishing to speak with you, and she seems rather upset."

"Probably bout the traitorous welp, no doubt." Tsume muttered, and Tsunade said "Might as well hear her out. Maybe we can get something out of her."

Pushing the send button, Tsunade replied "Send her in."

After a few moments, the door swung open, and a disheveled, bleary-eyed Sakura entered, seemingly ignoring the Inuzuka head and Shizune as she walked up to the desk, turning bleary green eyes filled with fear as she asked "I-is it true?"

"Is what true?" Tsunade questioned, and Sakura replied "Th-that you're ba-banishing Naruto... Its not true, is it?"

Sighing, she said "No, _I_ am not banishing Naruto." Seeing the relief in the girl's eyes, Tsunade felt like a horrible person as she continued "But unfortunately, the Council of Konoha voted 13 to 7 for his banishment, a decision being endorsed by the Daimyo. There's nothing I can do about it, my hands are tied."

At hearing this news, Sakura's legs felt weak, as if they'd been injected with a powerful sedative. Her knees shook and buckled, causing her to drop to a kneeling position on the floor, silent tears flowing down her cheeks as she balled her fists on her knees.

Feeling the sadness practically radiating off the girl, Tsume looked to the blonde Hokage, her eyes sending a silent message. Getting an affirmative nod from their leader, Tsume looked to the pinkette gave a reassuring smile as she said "Don't worry. Tsunade-sama isn't just going to throw the pup out into the world. She's planning how best to aide him, OK?"

Green eyes shining with tears turned to the Hokage, and after wiping her face off with her hands, Sakura smiled sadly as she said "Th-thank you, Ho-hokage-sama."

Returning the smile with one of her own, Tsunade studied the girl kneeling before her, a curiousity peaked. Raising a delicate eyebrow, the buxom blonde asked "What exactly is your relationship with genin Uzumaki Naruto?"

"Na-Naruto?" Sakura asked, a blush crossing her cheeks, and recieving a nod, the girl looked to the floor and answered softly "I-I-I don't know... He can be a real baka sometimes, he's still a close friend. But lately I-I've been getting this feeling in my stomach. It's kind o-of what I fe-feel for Sasuke-kun, and yet different. I can't really describe it, but it feels wierd... and nice. Warm."

"I see." Tsunade said, the smile disappearing for the neutral face of a leader, chocolate-colored eyes focusing on the pink-haired genin as she said "Genin Haruno Sakura."

"Ye-yes Hokage-sama?" Sakura asked as he head snapped up, green eyes meeting brown as the blonde Hokage questioned "Would you be willing to aide me in concern to Uzumaki Naruto? Doing so would leave you within my debt, and I would be willing to make you my apprentice should you accept."

A conflict of emotions filled green eyes, elation, confusion, and a little bit of worry chief among them. After a minute of silence, the Hokage said "Don't answer me now. You may go home and think it over, just return here early tomorrow with your answer. But I want you to know that what I'm going to ask of you is difficult, so don't make this decision lightly."

A silent nod was her answer, and Tsunade smiled as she said "Good girl. Also, do you know someone anyone else willing to aide Naruto?"

Without a moment of hesitation, Sakura answered "Hyuuga Hinata."

"The Hyuuga heiress?" Shizune asked, and recieving a nod from the pinkette, Tsume grinned and added "Kiba's commented on her constantly sniffing around the blonde pup. Unfortunately she's too shy to tell him her feelings, and he's too dense to notice her affections."

"Thank you Sakura-san." Tsunade said, and as the girl stood to leave, Shizune asked "Before you go Sakura, may I ask how you found out about his banishment."

The pinkette let out a sigh as she replied "Ino told me. She said she'd heard it from her father, and he was angry about it. I-I had to find out for sure."

"Very well. Dismissed." Tsunade said, and giving a small nod, the girl exited the room, looking emotionally drained by the events that took place in this office.

"It seems we've got some untapped resources in Konoha waiting to be used." Tsunade said after the genin left, and turned to Shizune as she said "Please bring Hyuuga Hinata here as soon as possible."

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A/N: Le gasp! I'm making a nice, likable Sakura! One whose grateful for Naruto succeeding and isn't only not beating him for hurting her 'precious Sasuke-kun', but actually cares for him! With Sakura, I'm going to stick closer to canon with her, the same of which can't be said for Kakashi. But don't worry, she's not going to instantly fall for Naruto, and she's going to have to work for her past 'sins' against Naruto to be forgiven. Not by the blonde himself, but by Hinata.

And trust me, our little heiress is going to be _very_ protective of our favorite blonde, especially after the next chapter's revelations.


	3. To Love A Blonde

I do not now, nor have I ever owned Naruto.

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"Then Sasuke, overtaken by that Curse Seal he was given by Hebi-teme, leapt at me with his Chidori, so I engaged him, countering with my Rasengan. The attacks were evenly matched, and were struggling for dominance between us." Naruto said, hands clasped before him and 'struggling'. Hinata giggled softly at the look of intense concentration on the blonde's face as he seemed totally commited to not only telling his lone audience member the tale, but pantomiming it properly so she wasn't bored.

"It looked bad for me, but the teme didn't notice the clone I'd created earlier suddenly leap at him from behind, and take hold of his monster wings and pull them back." Naruto mimiced wrapping his arms around the base of the hand-like wings and pulling back hard.

"This, of course, had the effect of distracting him, if only a bit. And since he needed his full concentration to battle my Rasengan, that small break in it was all I needed. My Rasengan pushed through, breaking the Chidori and striking him in the chest. I pulled back slightly of course, since I didn't want to kill him, but what I hit him with was enough to send him flying into the valley wall, then hit the ground unconscious." Naruto, miming pushing through some defense, threw himself back onto his bed, arms flailing.

"Unfortunately, that battle was tough, so it was all I could do not to pass out until I was safely back on the ground. But I passed out happy, because I was victor. Then I woke up in the hospital with Baa-chan and Shizune-nee-chan fretting over me. And that is the tale of how I managed to bring back Sasuke." Naruto finished with his brilliant smile, Hinata clapping his exilerating tale.

"Th-that was ve-very exciting, Na-Naruto-kun." Hinata murmured, and the blonde rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he said "Thanks Hinata-chan."

A knock sounded at the door, and it opened as Shizune walked in with a strained smile to the blonde, who returned the smile as he said "Hey Shizune-nee-chan! What'cha doing here?"

"I was looking for Hinata because Tsunade-sama wishes to speak with her, and figured she was visiting you." Shizune said with a smile, and Hinata asked "Wh-why does H-Hokage-sa-sama wish t-to s-see me?"

"You'll just have to go see her and find out yourself." Shizune said with a teasing tone, and Hinata nodded, turning to Naruto as she said "Bye Na-Naruto-kun."

"Bye Hinata-chan!" Naruto said with a wave, and as the Hyuuga heiress left, Naruto turned to Tsunade's apprentice as he asked "Can I leave now, nee-chan?"

"Sure. Just let me give you a final check-up to make sure you're as well as you appear to be." Shizune replied, and watched the blonde whoop with joy at finally being able to leave the hospital.

"OK, strip." Shizune commanded, and her smile grew as she mentally counted down until the eventual sudden stop of the 'Naruto Dance of Joy'. The blonde whirled on her with a speed rarely seen outside of those not clad in green spandex, eyes wide and jaw hanging.

"WHAT?!"

Shizune covered her mouth with a hand to hide her giggle as she said "This is going to be a complete check-up Naruto. That means you have to lose _all_ your clothes so I can do it properly."

The blonde's jaw snapped shut, his face turning a shade of red that would put tomatoes to shame, and backed away, pointing at her and cried "Ero-nee-chan!"

Shizune had to fight hard not to burst into laughter as she said "Well, if you feel that way, I could get Anko to do it. Of course, I need to get you to sign a few forms first."

"For what?" Naruto asked, and Shizune answered "Boring legal stuff mostly. They're only to ensure that I and the hospital are absolved of any legal consequences for what might happen during the medical exam."

"Why? What could happen?" Naruto questioned, and Shizune replied "When Anko gets those clothes off you, she'll get to see that sexy little body of yours and, more importantly, your 'third leg' down there... After which I'm afraid she won't be able to control herself and she'll 'make a man' out of you." The look of confusion on Naruto's face was adorable, but the look of horrified realization, followed quickly by hands covering his crotch caused the dark-haired woman to nearly break down in a fit of laughter.

Her 'threat' recieved the proper response of the blonde quickly relieving himself of his hospital-provided pajamas, standing with only his hands guarding his 'third leg' from view. Motioning to the bed with a hand, Shizune said "Take a seat so we can begin."

The blonde, so intent on keeping his front covered, turned his back to Shizune, and with a wicked smile the dark-haired woman replied "Mmmm, that's a cute little butt you've got there Naruto-kun."

Shizune burst into a fit of laughter at the sight of Naruto nearly jumping out of his skin with a yelp before disappearing beneath the sheets of the bed, a scandalized cry of "ERO-NEE-CHAN!" after he was safe beneath the nudity-obscuring sheets.

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Hinata stood before the Hokage's office door, fingers tapping together. As she stood there, she was forced to wonder why the Hokage would ever want to see the failure of the Hyuuga clan. Looking to the secretary seated beside the door, the woman gave her a comforting smile before returning to work.

After what felt like an eternity to the lavender-eyed girl, the intercom buzzed to life and Tsunade could be heard to say "Send her in."

The secretary motioned to the door, and giving her an appreciative nod, Hinata walked to the door and took hold of the handle. Several comforting breaths allowed her to open the door and enter, allowing her to see Inuzuka Tsume and the buxom Hokage watching her expectantly.

"Take a seat Hinata-chan." Tsunade said, motioning to the chair before her, and the young girl cautiously did so, not looking up at the powerful kunoichi with her.

"Hinata-chan, from what I've heard, you care very deeply for the genin Uzumaki Naruto. Is that correct?" Tsunade asked, and gulping, the young heiress nodded, pleading eyes turned to the blonde before her.

"Is there something wrong, Hinata-chan?" Tsunade asked, and Hinata murmured softly "Pl-pl-please do-don't in-inform m-my father. H-he would b-b-be dis-dis-displeased by th-this."

"Don't worry, Hinata. What's spoken in this room will never reach the ears of Hiashi, I promise." Tsume said, and Hinata turned to Tsume with a look that one would expect from a prisoner of war who was just told that he was going home, not a girl embarrassed at the thought of her father learning of her crush. Tsunade frowned at the reaction, but pushed it away for another time, knowing they had more important things to discuss now.

"Hinata, I have some news to inform you concerning Naruto." Tsunade continued, and the girl looked horrified as she asked "He's no-not go-going t-to di-die, is he?"

Smiling to the frightened girl, Tsunade answered "No, he's not going to die, at least not for a very, very long time." However, her smile disappeared as she continued "Unfortunately, the Council has decided in their infinite wisdom decided that he needed to be banished, a sentence backed by the Daimyo of Hi no Kuni. Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do."

She watched as the already pale girl lost what little color her face held, looking as though she had been sentenced to death as she turned to Tsunade and said "M-my fa-father v-v-voted f-for his ba-ba-banishment."

There wasn't a hint of a question, just a statement of fact, one which Tsunade nodded to.

A slight smile returned to the Hokage's face as she said "I have a plan to aid Naruto in this criminal abuse of power by the council, and I need your help. Let me warn you, what I'm going to ask of you is difficult, and will require much from you, but I have full faith in your ability to help me. Also know that if you agree to do this for me, I will be in your debt and I would make you my apprentice."

Sitting in silence for several long moments, Hinata looked to the female Hokage and asked "What do you need of me?"

"This has nothing to do with debt or the apprenticeship, does it?" Tsume asked, though it wasn't a question. Seeing the midnight-haired girl nod, Tsume smiled as Tsunade said "Return here tomorrow morning to learn of your mission."

Watching the pale-eyed girl leave, Tsunade turned to the last person in the room and asked "Now, I've been curious about this since yesterday, and I must know: Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?" Tsume asked, and Tsunade replied "Don't play dumb with me. Why are you doing so much to aid me in concerns to Uzumaki Naruto. I know you said you were fond of him and he makes you laugh, but that doesn't cause someone to do so much for a person. Now spill the truth."

Tsume looked into the Hokage's eyes as she said "I find the elder's actions inexcusable, and I happen to see the boy as one of my own pups."

Smirking, Tsunade said "You're lying, at least partially."

Tensing, the Inuzuka matriarch asked "What do you mean?"

"The fact you find the elder's actions inexcusable is true, but you seeing the boy as one of your own children is a lie." Tsunade said, and Tsume asked "How did you..."

"Your ability to hide the fact you're lying is incredible, but there were just enough tells for me to see through it. And had I not been a medic nin most of my life, even I might have missed them. Now tell me the truth." Tsunade answered, and Tsume looked at her leader silently, studying the woman and sizing her up.

Finally, she slumped back in her chair with a sigh as she said "OK. The honest to Kami truth is that, dammit, I have a crush on the blonde pup!"

"You... have a crush on Naruto?" Tsunade asked, and Tsume nodded, covering her eyes with the base of her palms as she said "I know, I know! I'm more than twice the pup's age... I have a son his age for Kami's sake! But ever since the Chuunin exam finals, whenever I think about him, I... I..."

"You swoon like a silly fangirl, your heart beats like you're in a life-or-death struggle, and you feel as if everything would be alright if only he could return those feelings." Tsunade explained, and Tsume nodded, at least before realization hit her and she looked to the Hokage with a questioning glance.

"How do I know? Well, join the club sister. I've felt the same way about a genin years ago." Tsunade said, and Tsume asked "Who?"

"A young genin under the teutalage of my pervert of a friend Jiraiya, and his head currently watches over Konoha from the monument outside." Tsunade explained, and Tsume looked stunned as she muttered "Yondaime-sama..."

"Yep. But at the time, he was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed brat of a genin named Namikaze Minato, not the most feared shinobi to ever step on a battlefield. Reminds me of Naruto in a lot of ways, actually." Tsunade said, eyes taking a faraway quality as she thought of the blonde young blonde.

"It's sick, isn't it?" Tsume asked, and Tsunade shook her head as she said "Not at all."

"But he's thirteen..." Tsume began, but Tsunade replied "And he's a shinobi of Konohagakure. The moment he placed that hitai-ate on his forehead, he became an adult. He has been deemed mature enough to kill for his village, so he's mature enough to smoke, to drink, and to be in a relationship with a man or woman of any age without consequence."

"It still feels wrong..." Tsume muttered, and Tsunade replied "I understand. But if anyone is mature enough to handle a relationship, its him."

Blinking, Tsume asked "Have you met the pup?"

"Of course. But that is his personality, a result of social isolation and his attempts to recieve any attention from people trying to deny his very existance. According to records, he has lived on his own since the age of six, and to not only survive, but thrive like that requires a level of maturity not seen in many adults." Tsunade explained, and Tsume eyed the Hokage as she said "You sure are striving hard to bring this about, Tsunade-sama."

Leaning on her desk, Tsunade sighed as she said honestly "That blonde brat has undeservedly suffered a lot in his short life. Far too much, in my opinion. After what he's been through, he deserves to be happy, and more importantly, loved."

"But Hinata..." Tsume began, Tsunade however stopped her as she said "I'm not saying he has to love only one person. Far from it, actually. He has shown a surprising amount of compassion for those around him, and if anyone can love more than one woman, its him... In fact, I'm certain he can."

Chocolate eyes locked with slitted pupils as Tsunade said "Just don't close off a chance at finding love again so quickly. Please." Tsume stared into brown eyes filled with pain and long lost chances, and heard the need to help her avoid the horrible fate of being lonely, bitter, and trying to find comfort in vices, one the blonde suffered for so long before being save by Naruto.

Sighing, Tsume nodded and said "I won't, Hokage-sama."

Sitting back, relief shone in Tsunade's eyes as she said "That's all I ask, Tsume."

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Naruto glared at the smirking Shizune as he finished strapping on his sandals with a mutter of "Ero-nee-chan." What she'd done to him was embarressing, and felt more like something that belonged in Ero-sennin's novels instead of being performed by a medic, especially his nee-chan.

"Alright Naruto, you're in perfect health." Shizune said, and Naruto scoffed as he stood, saying "I could of told you that!"

"Now now Naruto-kun, don't be like that. I and Tsunade-sama just want to make sure you're OK. In spite of how she sometimes acts, Tsunade-sama worries about you as much as I do." Shizune said. Hearing that, the blonde's anger left and he deflated as he muttered "Sorry nee-chan."

"It's alright, Naruto-kun. Now get out of here, this hospital room is needed for sick and injured people." Shizune said, and Naruto beamed at her before suddenly giving her a tight hug. Watching the blonde dash from the room, Shizune felt her cheeks darken as a smile crossed her face.

She had a bet with Anko to win.

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Practically exploding out of the hospital doors and into the bright sunny day, Naruto turned in a small circle, arms spread wide, face skyward, and eyes closed as he soaked up the comforting warmth of the sun. The cool breeze brought the blonde a symphony of different scents filling Konoha, which was practically Heaven for the blonde's nose after the stale sterility of the Hospital.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto sighed contently as he walked toward his home-away-from-home within the walls of Konoha, the humble shrine dedicated to worship of the greatest of all foods, one given by Kami herself to prove that people were indeed loved...

Ichiraku's Ramen Shop.

Naruto found an extra skip in his step at finally being out of the hospital, free to eat his beloved ramen and not worry about Tsunade and Shizune practically smothering him. But, even though he would never admit it to them even on pain of death, he found he enjoyed their concern about his safety. When they were fretting over whether or not he took his painkillers, if his blankets were fresh, and that he ate the nasty hospital food, he wondered if that was what if felt like to have a mother or sister.

If Iruka was his 'father', Sarutobi one of his 'grandfathers' with Teuchi being the other, Ayame his 'sister', and Sasuke his 'brother', then Tsunade was his 'mother' and Shizune another 'sister'. Allowing himself to believe that they really were his family allowed him to stave off the crushing depression of lonliness that fill the majority of his life, if only for a few, precious moments.

Shaking his head to remove such thoughts, Naruto thought of the ramen he was about to enjoy. He had to make up for precious lost meals of ramen, and had a story to tell Ichiraku and Ayame. One even more exciting than team Seven's mission to Wave. As he walked, he smiled to the people around him, purposefully ignoring the 'hidden' glares and looks of disgust from the people around him.

"Naruto?"

The blonde stopped and turned to see Ino standing there, watching him carefully. Giving the pale blonde a bright smile, Naruto said "Hey Ino-chan, I was just going to get me some ramen to wash away the nasty taste of hospital food! Want to come with me?"

The pale blonde stood silent for a few moments before giving a weak smile as she said "Sure." Walking side-by-side with Naruto, Ino wondered why the blonde was taking his banishment so well, when it suddenly hit her...

He didn't know.

Here he was, in blissful ignorance of his fate, something he didn't deserve. In fact, it was seen by most shinobi as the blonde being rewarded for completing a mission successfully with a punch in the stomach and kick to the jewels. Sighing, Ino knew someone had to tell him, but found she didn't have it in her heart to emotionally destroy him by doing so.

"Ino-chan?"

Ino blinked several times before turning to face him, concern on his face as he asked "Are you OK? You kind of spaced out there for a moment. Maybe you should go see Tsunade-baa-chan and make sure you're OK."

Waving off his concern with a smile, Ino said "I'm fine, I was just lost in thought for a moment. So, how did your mission go?" At her question, Naruto gave her one of his brilliant smiles and excitedly began his tale. Ino found his excitement contagious, and was drawn in by the emotions expressed by the blonde during his retelling. She gasped when necessary, laughed at happy moments, frowned at the beginning of his confrontation with Sasuke, and cheered when he told of his courageous defeat of the Curse Seal-infected Sasuke.

By the end of his tale, he found himself standing outside of the ramen stand, and realized they'd been standing outside it for several minutes, niether entering, Ino enthralled by the story, and Naruto engaged in telling it.

Smiling, Naruto moved one of the flaps with a grin and said "Ladies first."

Laughing slightly, Ino replied "Flattery will get you everywhere Naruto." As she walked past, she swayed her hips in a way normally reserved for Sasuke. And she noted with pleasure that unlike Sasuke, Naruto quite obviously took notice, his eyes watching her firm, round backside as she walked.

The blonde caught himself, Naruto closed his eyes, a deep blush on his cheeks as he thought _'I am NOT a pervert! I am NOT a pervert!'_ But even as he thought that, images of Ino's swaying backside forced themselves to the forefront of his mind, followed by similar images of Sakura's and Hinata's equally round bottoms.

The sound of Ino asking "Naruto, you OK?" brought the blonde out of his thoughts, and he nodded quickly, face flush with embarrassment as he practically ran into the stand, hoping that his thoughts weren't being made obvious by his 'third leg' rising to attention.

Taking his seat next to the ponytailed blonde, Naruto ordered three bowls of ramen, pork, beef, and miso, while Ino ordered vegetable ramen. Watching the bright blonde-haired shinobi next to her tap his fingers on the bar of the stand impatiently as he awaited his ramen, Ino sighed softly as she realized that the blonde would be destroyed by his banishment.

She had to do something, anything to soften the blow, if only a little. And like a flash of lightning, it struck her. Leaning over to him, she placed her hand on his opposite cheek and suddenly pulled him close, planting a kiss on his cheek.

Watching his face darken considerably, Ino whispered "Don't forget Naruto, many people in Konoha care about you."

Stunned by the kiss, Naruto stared at her, nodding dumbly as he muttered "O-OK... Whatever you say."

Smiling, Ino said "Good." and turned to the ramen being placed before her by a smirking Ayame, Naruto numbly doing the same, unsure of what had caused that.

Little did he realize that he'd find out all too soon. And that doing so would change not only his life, but the lives of many within Konoha and even the the village itself.

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A/N: And another chapter is done. Highly focused on Naruto and Tsume this chapter, with decent focus placed on Hinata and Ino getting a little screentime. Don't worry, the next chapter will be largely Hinata-centric with some focus placed on Ino and Sakura too, as well as (maybe) having Naruto find out about his banishment.


	4. Difficult Discussions

I do not now, nor have I ever owned Naruto.

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Hinata sat on the park bench, staring deep into the cup of tea cooling in her hands. She couldn't return home after reporting to the Hokage's office, at least not until she managed to sort through her thoughts and feelings. The need to do so was important, for if her father had any reason to suspect her of knowing something he didn't, he would interrogate her and she would be forced to tell him everything.

This would most likely get her branded with the Caged Bird Seal, and worse, cause trouble for Tsunade-sama and Naruto-kun, all because she was too weak to stand up to her father.

Sighing, she sipped the tea, closing her eyes as the lukewarm liquid calmed her nerves, allowing her to get them under control. For the sake of the Hokage's plan and Naruto's safety, she needed to do so.

'Why does everyone seem hate you so, Naruto-kun?' Hinata wondered as she took another sip of her tea. Watching her beloved blonde from afar for so many years, she had seen the way people would glare hatefully at him, if they gave him any attention at all. And the fact she was so unnoticable she could disappear in a crowd allowed her to listen in on whispered conversations about the blonde, and none of them were favorable.

So many questions surrounded the whisker-cheeked blonde, but she had always been afraid to seek the answers, fearing retribution for digging into such things, even from the grandfatherly Sarutobi. But now, she felt she could ask Tsunade and not have to worry about punishment.

Taking another sip of her tea, a new thought came to her mind, one that made her smile. Not everyone hated her blonde crush, and she'd seen this the same as she'd seen the hatred of many. Jiraiya-sama, Tsunade-sama, Shizune-san, Tsume-sama, Teuchi and his daughter Ayame, Iruka-sensei, and Sakura all liked the blonde. Shikamaru and Chouji were neutral to him, and her own teammates seemed to hold a sense of comradreship with him.

A blush overtook her cheeks as she remembered Kiba's friendly teasing about her crush while subtly encouraging it, and even Shino-kun ocassional spoke of him favorably, though his statements were sometimes odd. And to be honest, she couldn't tell if he was actually making a joke or not. She wasn't alone in that aspect, for Kiba-kun or Kurenai-sensei couldn't tell either.

Draining her cup of its lukewarm contents, she looked at the tea leaves resting at the bottom. Her mother believed that one could tell the future from reading tea leaves, but her father dismissed it as superstitious nonsense. Even so, her mother knew how to do so and had begun to teach Hinata. But all she was able to learn from her mother was if the omen in the leaves meant good or ill.

Staring at them for several long moments, a small smile crossed her face. The leaves resting at the bottom of her tea cup meant good omens were going to come to her. And hopefully Naruto would share those good omens by association.

Holding onto the cup, she stood from her seat and headed for home, assured of her ability not to arise suspicion in her family before her meeting with the Hokage tomorrow morning.

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Ino sat behind the counter in her family's flower shop, flipping through a magazine. But she wasn't really reading it, instead, her mind was still on the banished blonde. Despite outward appearances, as a Yamanaka and a mindwalker, her mind was firmly rooted in both logic and understanding the workings of the human mind. She had to be to be at all proficient in her clan's jutsus, and if there was one thing she took seriously in her ninja training, it was those.

And the council taking such an interest in the orphaned dead last of her class to the point of using the Daimyo to banish him didn't make a bit of sense logically to her. Sure, he could be annoying, and he used to regularly play harmless pranks on the villagers, but he'd stopped his pranking ways after making Genin, and being annoying wasn't reason enough to go through all the trouble they had to just to banish him.

To make things more confusing, her father refused to tell her why the council had banished him, only making brief mention of some law or another as an excuse. This was all infuriatingly confusing to her, since she doubted enough of the council could illogically hate her fellow blonde to be able to banish him. Especially Hinata's dad, a man who she had seen to be a very cold, impersonal man with his family, and treated everyone else as something that should be scurrying under a rock. For him to take interest in anyone not of his clan, especially someone like Naruto, meant they were hiding something from not only her, but everyone in her generation and under.

The sound of the door's bell sounded, followed by a rather subdued "Ino?"

Forced from her thoughts, Ino looked up to her former friend turned rival turned tentative friend Sakura, and at the morose look on the normally chipper pinkette's face, knew the other was troubled.

"What's the matter for... Sakura?" Ino asked, almost reverting to her 'nickname' for the other. Sighing, Sakura walked to the counter and leaned on it, resting her head on her forearms as she muttered "I need someone to talk to."

"Well, I have consider me a sympathetic shoulder for your troubles, Sakura." Ino said, and the green eyes of her friend held both relief and enormous amounts of gratitude as the pinkette said "Thank you."

"Now, what's troubling you?" Ino asked, leaning her elbows on the counter and holding her chin in her hands. Thinking it over, Sakura said "Its about Naruto. I talked t-to Tsu-Tsunade-sama, and the-they're really ba-banishing him." Nodding, Ino waited for the girl to continue, seeing that wasn't her only trouble.

"Tsunade-sama is going t-to help him... and she asked for my help." Sakura finished, and Ino asked "What'd you say?"

"I haven't answered yet, and I have until tomorrow to do so, but I don't know if I can. I-I mean, to take it will get me a rare chance, and I'll be able to help Naruto. Bu-but, there's my parents to think of, and-and..." Sakura trailed off, and Ino nodded as she asked "And Sasuke-kun?"

"Yeah. I don't know what to think of him anymore. I offered him love, friendship, and everything I could, bu-but he-he..." Sakura replied, and Ino said "He balled it up like so much trash and threw it back in your face."

"Not only that, he also tried to betray Konoha to one of our greatest enemies and almost murdered Naruto! Hi-his best friend, all because he was trying to keep him from making such a horrible mistake!" Sakura said, the sheer magnitude of both actions seemingly beyond her reasoning. Ino nodded in agreement, knowing that even though they weren't exactly best friends anymore, the thought of one trying to kill the other sent a cold chill down their spine.

"And then there's what Kakashi-sen... Kakashi said." Sakura said, and noting the way Sakura spoke Kakashi's name as if it were some vile venom, Ino asked "What happened with him?"

"Well, I went to speak to him about Naruto and Sasuke, but the bastard didn't even care that Naruto was being banished! In fact, he even seemed happy that one of his students was going to be exiled from Konoha, acting as if it were somehow Naruto's fault for Sasuke's actions and punishment!" Sakura said, face flushed with anger, and Ino paled at the thought of a sensei acting that way. While a lazy, unmotivated bastard, Asuma did care about his students in his own unique way, and should anything like this happen to one of them, he would bring the wrath of Kami down on the heads of those responsible like an avenging, cigarette-smoking demon.

"No..." Ino muttered in disbelief, and Sakura nodded, her scowl deepening as she said "Then there was the way he spoke of Tsunade-sama! And worse of all, his tone implied I would blindly agree with him because it involved Sasuke! Like I didn't expect Sasuke-kun to be punished in some way for almost defecting to Orochimaru! How shallow does he think I am?!"

"Sakura... you probably were that shallow _once_." Ino said, stressing the word once, and Sakura stared at the pale blonde in momentary disbelief before understanding flooded her.

"Yeah, I was a shallow bitch, wasn't I?" Sakura asked, and Ino gave a single nod before smiling and saying "But your not anymore. You've grown and matured a lot during your shinobi career. All of us have, even Naruto. Its just too bad that your sensei has his head shoved too far up his own ass to see that."

"Thanks." Sakura said with a grateful nod, and Ino looked to her friend as she asked "What are you gonna do about Tsunade's offer?"

"I... I don't know." Sakura replied, and Ino said "Well, whatever you decide to do, Sakura, just know that I and the rest of your friends will stand behind you all the way no matter what, same as Naruto." Looking up at her blonde friend, Sakura stared at her for several seconds before an impulsive thought overcame her. And before she had time to realize what she was doing, she did it.

She leaned over the counter and gave Ino a brief kiss on the lips.

Breaking from the blonde, the pinkette's eyes widened in shock, which was followed by those of her friend. The duo stared at each other for a few uncomfortable seconds before Sakura turned and bolted out the door, an embarrassed blush adorning her cheeks.

Watching her friend leave out the door, Ino raised a hand to her lips, a mild pink dusting her own cheeks as she felt her still-tingling lips, all new questions buzzing around in her head.

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Walking past the cadet branch guards with a small, polite nod, Hinata entered the Hyuuga estates, head downturned, not really looking at those around her. It was all too normal for her, so noone who saw her thought too much of her posture, believing it to be the shame of being so weak and such a disgrace to the prestigious Hyuuga clan weighing down her head.

Her path was well-worn by her feet, so she quickly found herself standing before her door without even really thinking about it. Entering the room, she activated the seals that protected her room from being spied into by the Byakugan. This was a luxury only afforded to the main branch, for which she was glad as she stopped beside her fuuton.

Taking a deep breath, she carefully removed a couple of floorboards and looked into the secret compartment. In it were a variety of items, most of them sentimental in value, which necessitated their being hidden from her clan, whom hated such things with a passion, her father more than most. Those items included a couple of storybooks her mother read her when she was a child, pictures of her parents during happier times, her mother's pressed flower collection, and other such items.

Also within the compartment was a wood box filled with various sugary sweets ferreted into her room in secret. She mostly kept it for when her father was so displeased with her as his daughter he forced her to bed without supper, an all too common occurance for her. It was also for when she was feeling especially down and needed a little pick-me-up, another all too common occurance.

The one of th only things in her hidey hole was a picture of her Naruto-kun, standing in one of the training grounds, giving the camera one of his face-splitting smiles and a thumbs-up. His jacket was off, leaving him only in a black t-shirt, and a thin sheen of sweat resided on his body from the obviously strenuous workout he'd just gone through.

Looking at the picture caused her to blush, but also made her remember why she cared for the blonde so deeply. Despite his faults, he was a dedicated worker, friendly, caring, and outgoing to all those around him, including those who hated him so. He'd helped her so much without even knowing it, and she feared that loving him wouldn't be enough to pay this debt to him.

Her previous fears and worries disappeared as she looked at the picture, realizing that he would most likely need her help now. Need her to be strong for him, and be a source of support that he always was for her.

Quickly returning the picture to its place within the hole, she opened the wood box and plucked out a couple pieces of candy before shutting its lid and replacing the floorboards to hide it. Unwrapping one, she popped it into her mouth, a sense of comfort flowing through her as its sugary sweetness landed on her tongue. Enjoying the relaxing quality the candy had on her, she pocketed the other and quickly deactivated the seals protecting her room.

Walking over to her bookcase, she grabbed one of the books from it and sat in a comfortable chair near it. Settling in, she began reading it, trying to not worry about what tomorrow would bring.

And if something were indeed to happen, she really wanted to find out how this particular book ended. She really hoped that the hero would save the village and find the love he deserved.

After some time silently reading, her head snapped up as someone knocked on her door. Closing her book and resting it in her lap, she called through it "Co-come in."

The door opened, revealing a branded member of her clan, who bowed and said "Hiashi-sama wishes to see you in his study immediately." As the door closed behind the man, the heiress felt her heart drop into her stomach, a look of silent horror shining in her eyes. Had he somehow found out? How much did he know? What did he suspect?

Gulping down her fear, she set her book aside and rose from her seat. Exiting her room, she walked down the hallway toward her father's study like she was a condemned prisoner heading toward the executioner. The few clan members she passed avoided her, recognizing her posture and feeling the aura of dread around her, knowing that it meant she was wanted by her father. Most of them took a similar posture when going to see him since, with the exception of Hanabi, he was angry with those he summoned to him.

Most took pity on the child before continuing on, knowing personally that staring just made it worse.

Stopping before his door, a shaking hand rose and knocked on the doorframe several times. After a few moments, his cold, passionless voice came through, speaking only "Come in." Opening the door, Hinata entered and walked before him, taking a kneeling position, head down and not meeting his eyes. With the exception of the elders, noone was allowed to meet eyes with him, not that they wanted to, lest they see the disgust he held for them.

Hiashi sat, studying the girl before him carefully before asking "Hinata, I have heard from several sources that you were summoned by the Hokage for a meeting in her office. I must ask myself what exactly she wanted from a failure such as yourself. Has your failures become so unavoidable that even Hokage-sama has taken notice of them?"

"N-no, t-tou-sama." Hinata replied carefully, hiding the pain of his remarks with a efficiency she should not have.

"So, then please tell me what exactly our esteemed leader wanted from one such as yourself." Hiashi demanded, and his daughter replied "Sh-she wished t-to offer me ah-apprenticeship under h-her." She wasn't really lying to him, because that had been one of the things she had been asked. She merely forgot the rest of it.

"I see. What exactly would a woman of her social standing see in someone such as yourself? Your status as heir of the most prestigious clan in Konoha, while holding power in many circles, is not so with that woman. And your constand failures should not merit such training, so I don't understand why she would ask this of you. Perhaps she simply has a soft spot for failures, much like the Sandaime. Both have taken an inordinate amount of interest in another failure, that blonde streetrat Uzumaki Naruto."

At hearing him insult Naruto, Hinata was forced to bite her tongue lest she lash out at him. Insulting her she could handle and was even expected, but to hear him speak so ill of her crush was almost too much.

"Whatever the case, you will simply have to refuse her offer. Failure or not, I refuse to have any member of the Hyuuga clan learn under that woman. And if she makes an issue of it, simply inform her that I have signifigant sway with the council." Hiashi said, a sneer on his face as he finished his sentence.

Hinata bit back a scowl and said "Ye-yes, tou-sama." He claimed her to be a failure of most things, but there was one thing she was an expert in. An expertise born from hiding pain, both emotional and physical, from her father and clan, lest their opinion of her drop even further than it already was. An expertise so good that she could quite possibly fool the Torture and Interrigation Unit of Konoha.

She was a masterful liar.

"Very well. You are excused." Hiashi said before returning to his paperwork, treating her as if she no longer existed. Rising to her feet, she turned and exited the study.

If she had any doubts in working with Tsunade before, they were put to rest by this... enlightening conversation with her father.

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Sitting on the couch in Naruto's small, unkempt apartment, Tsunade sighed for what felt for quite possibly the hundredth time since yesterday's meeting. Even with her plans, she couldn't stop the sick feeling that was resting in the pit of her stomach. She knew exactly what the problem was, but that didn't mean it was going to leave.

In fact, it only made it worse.

Next to her sat Shizune, Tonton laying in the dark-haired woman's lap being stroked lazily. When the dark haired woman asked her master if she wished to be accompanied on this painful mission, Tsunade almost told her no. But then she realized that after hearing this news, the annoying young blonde they cared for would require all the comfort he could get. To a boy as loyal as him, being banished was akin to being executed.

"This is wrong, Tsunade-shishou." Shizune said for the twentieth time that day, and Tsunade said "I know that, Shizune. I don't like it any more than you do. But the only way to stop it would be overthrowing the Daimyo and taking power, and that'd be impossible even with all of Konoha's forces."

Both had been to the Daimyo's court and met his elite forces, the Samurai. While the Twelve Guardians were more famous, they were merely his personal guards. His elite forces consisted of the Samurai, a group of highly trained, dedicated soldiers who would willingly die for their leader. But what made them truly dangerous was their armor, which were inscribed with special seals that created a barrier around the wearer that absorbed any external sources of chakra whether it came from the wearer or an enemy, using it to power the barrier.

However, they were able to use an internal form of chakra manipulation known as Butsu Nairiki, which allowed them to augment their bodies in a variety of ways. They even had a powerful trump card in the form of Jugaku-Riki, which caused their strength, speed, and agility to be increased severalfold, at the cost of severe damage to their muscles and bones from prolonged use. But they were willing to suffer that pain and sustain that damage, all to defend the Daimyo.

Then there was his feared Legion, which was much larger in force, but were little more than brutal psychotics who swarmed their target with superior numbers and an undeterable need to kill, rape, and pillage anything before them. They were deemed too dangerous to be allowed to roam freely, so they were often kept in barracks that would be better described as a prison camp, the stone walls rising above those of Konoha, the steel gates locked from the outside and the walls constantly patrolled.

Their brutal nature was well-known, and teachers sometimes threatened students that if they performed too poorly, they'd be sent to the capital as slave labor for the Legion. This was a death sentence for anyone, and the poor victim would often suffer beatings, rape, and worse before finally being mercifully killed. Fortunately, no Hokage nor Daimyo would ever allow such a thing to happen to anyone under either of their command, so the threat was useless once the students learned that.

Two pairs of eyes turned to the door as the lock jiggled for a few moments before it swung open, allowing them to see Naruto standing in the doorway, blue eyes wide at the sight of his baa-chan and nee-chan sitting on his couch awaiting him.

"Wh-what're you doing here?" Naruto asked, and Tsunade couldn't repress the sigh as she said "Come on in, Naruto. We've got something to tell you."

"What? Is Sasuke-teme alright? Did something happen to Neji? Or Chouji? What about Bushy-brows? Is it Akamaru?" the blonde questioned as he moved over to them quickly, fear filling his eyes. But his fellow blonde shook her head gently as she said "No Naruto, they're all just fine."

"Then what is it?" Naruto asked, and Shizune suggested "Maybe you should sit down first, Naruto-kun."

"Why? If my friend's are OK, it can't really be that bad, can it?" Naruto replied with a broad grin, but it quickly disappeared at the somber looks he recieved from both Tsunade and the usually chipper Shizune. Even Tonton seemed depressed about whatever it was, laying in Shizune's lap, soulfull eyes locked on him.

Despite what many people thought, Naruto was a highly perceptive and wise person. He quickly realized quickly that whatever they had to tell him was bad if everyone was down about it. Immediately, his mind went into overdrive, thinking of every possible problem that could cause such a reaction from members of his 'family' as he took a seat between the two.

"Is there something wrong with Ero-sennin?" Naruto asked as he looked to her, and Tsunade answered "No. Naruto..."

"Is it Iruka-sensei? Is he sick?"

"No. Naruto, listen..."

"It's you, isn't it baa-chan? You've got old person cancer or something?"

"No! Naruto, just listen for a..."

"It's Tuechi-jiji! He's closing down his store?"

"NARUTO!"

All eyes turned to the brunette, even the pig in her lap, as tears began flowing down her cheeks, looking like she was about to start sobbing any minute. Even Tsunade was shocked by this outburst from her normally calm, level-headed assistant.

"Nee-chan? What is it?" Naruto asked, his eyes glued on her, dread flooding him as he wondered what had caused this reaction in her.

"Yo-you're being ba-banished, that's what!" Shizune cried, tears still trickling down her cheeks. And with that, the entire world stopped, growing silent save for the ocassional sniffle from the silently crying Shizune.

In fact, it was so silent, Tsunade would swear she could hear the sound of Naruto's heart shattering.

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Butsu Nairiki - Buddha's Inner Strength

Jugaku-riki - Strength of Hell

A/N: Another chapter done. Very... interesting chapter for me to write, but not nearly as interesting as the next. And just so niether can get angry (though I doubt they will): The Samurai idea I borrowed from Perfect Lionheart's "Chunin Exam Day", and the Legion comes from EdStargazer's "Naruto: Captured". It just makes sense to me that the Daimyo wouldn't rely on a ninja village, which is essentially a legal mercenary organization, to protect his country, since their trust is suspect. That's why he would have his own, superior forces in case the ninja decide they're tired of listening to him. In this case, the Samurai.

As stated in the fic, the Twelve Guardians are his personal protection, but even they couldn't stop a revolt of all of Konoha's ninja. And it's also why Suna didn't simply overthrow their Daimyo when he cut their funding. Because considering what he did to his own son, I doubt Gaara's father has any problem with murdering their leader for such a slight if he could get away with it.

Konoha acts as both a source of income for the country and do the jobs he can't use his samurai for. The Legion, as stated, are his attack dogs, a large group of brutal psychotics kept locked safely away until needed, and work as a way of inspiring fear in his enemies. Because truthfully, even the Daimyo is afraid and disgusted by them, which is why they aren't allowed to roam free.

I hope that answers any questions you might have.


	5. Repercussions

I do not now, nor have I ever owned Naruto.

A/N: A quick note for Malix2. Nothing personal, its just that the Narutoverse isn't exactly big on 'historical accuracy', what with the magic eyeballs, breathing fire, and summoning giant talking animals. So, if the ninja aren't going to be historically accurate, why should the samurai? Besides, we've got to have some reason for why Gaara's father would allow the Daimyo to basically piss all over his feet and not seek retribution. I mean, considering what he did to his own son and wife, I doubt he has much stock in 'loyalty' or 'respect'.

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For what felt like hours, but in reality was only a minute, the normally loud, energetic blonde sat in stunned silence, staring at the dark-haired woman in disbelief. Tsunade could feel a painful ache in her chest as she waited for the blonde's reaction when reality came crashing down upon him.

"You're lying."

He didn't speak loudly, instead in a soft tone that seemed to beg for what he was saying to be the truth.

"Naruto..." Shizune began, but the blonde cut her off by jumping to his feet and turning to face them, his tone a little louder, tears welling in his eyes as he continued "You're lying! You're mad that I called you ero-nee-chan in the hospital and now you and baa-chan are trying to get back at me by lying to me!"

"Naruto! She's not lying!" Tsunade replied, the emotions she'd been repressing finally getting the better of her, tears beginning to flow down her own cheeks, but Naruto turned to her, yelling as tears ran down his face "You have to be! I can't be banished! I didn't do anything wrong!"

"I know! I know you didn't do anything wrong! I tried to keep it from happening! Oh Kami how I tried..." Tsunade sobbed, burying her face in her own hands. At the sight of his baa-chan sobbing, Naruto sniffed and charged, practically tackling the elder blonde as he buried his face into her shoulder, arms wrapped around her neck as he broke down into a sobbing fit of his own. At the feeling of the blonde gripping her tight and sobbing into her shoulder, Tsunade wrapped her arms around her adopted grandson and cried, muttering "sorry" inbetween sobs.

Shizune watched the her mentor and the boy she'd grown to see as a brother comfort one another and smiled sadly through her own silent tears at the touching image.

After several minutes of sobbing that slowly turned into silent crying, Naruto sniffed as he asked "Wh-what's going to happen to me?"

"Don't you worry Naruto-kun, I've been working on a plan to help you since the decision was passed down. I'm making sure that they realize what a mistake they've made, and you won't be alone in this." Tsunade replied, gently stroking his soft golden locks.

"Re-really?" Naruto asked, sniffing as he raised back to look at her face, wiping excess tears from his eyes.

Smiling, Tsunade nodded and replied "Of course. Do you honestly believe that I'd just sit back and allow them to do this to you? I am you're 'baa-chan', after all, and they're not throwing my gaki out without a fight!"

"Thanks..." Naruto began, and after a few moments of indecision, added "Kaa-san." This caused the blonde Hokage to stare at the uncertain blonde. Turning to Shizune, she noted the confused look the woman was sending her and the orange-clad blonde in her arms.

"What?" Naruto asked, uncomfortable with the looks being sent to him, and Tsunade asked "What did you just call me?"

"Uh... Kaa-san?" Naruto replied, and Tsunade asked "And why did you do that?"

The normal self-assured blonde looked to an interesting stain on his couch and replied "I-I don't know. I-I guess it's because y-you've been more like a mother than anyone else, an-and I've always wa-wanted one..." Sighing, he added "I won't do it again."

Staring at the blonde, Tsunade gave a smirk and gently flicked him on the forehead, getting an indignant squawk from him. Chuckling, she said "You have no problem calling me 'baa-chan', so why would you have the a problem with kaa-san?"

"S-so you do-don't mind?" Naruto asked, turning to her with a hopeful gleam in the formerly despondant blue orbs, and giving him a kiss on the forehead, she said "Of course, gaki! Honestly, I've come to think of you as my son, and I want you to call me kaa-san." Smirking, she added "Besides, it makes me feel a lot younger than 'baa-chan' any day."

"Re-really?" Naruto asked, and giving him a nod, Tsunade replied "Of course sochi." Once more tears flowed down the blonde's smiling face as he lunged forward and gave her another hug around the neck. Returning it, the elder blonde sighed as she thought 'I wish I'd been there for you 13 years ago, Naruto. You deserved a better life than you'd gotten... But that changes today.'

"Hey Naruto, can your nee-chan get a hug too?" Shizune asked, and wiggling out of the Hokage's arms, Naruto leapt onto the dark-haired woman, a squealing Tonton barely avoided being crushed between them as he wrapped his arms aroung her chest and gave her a tight hug. Returning it, albiet softer, Shizune's previously held fears and anxiety concerning their plans melted away from the warmth flowing from the blonde.

After several seconds, Tsunade grinned and said "Alright, you two, the lovefest can wait till later. Me and Shizune have a lot of work to do for our plan to be successful."

Shizune whined in disappointment as she and the blonde released each other, Naruto turning his eyes to Tsunade as he asked "I wanna help too."

Giving the blonde a devious grin, Tsunade said "Of course you can, and I have the perfect part for you, Naruto. But first things first, remember those pranks you used to pull?" At the boy's nod, Tsunade said "Well, I want you to start pulling them again. Do as many as you can, as grand as you can, to anyone you want... Except for the Aburame, Akamichi, Yamanaka, Nara, Inuzuka, and Gobinata clans, OK? Anyone else is fair game, but no serious injuries or permanent damage to buildings."

Rising to his feet, Naruto stood at attention and gave a proper salute as he said "Will do, kaa-san!"

"I know you will. Now get going, you've got a lot of work to do and not much time to do it in!" Tsunade said, and as the blonde turned to leave, she swatted him playfully on the butt to encourage him to hurry up. Rising to her own feet, Tsunade dusted herself off and straightened her clothes before turning to Shizune, who had done the same.

"Come along Shizune. Me and you have our own work to do." Tsunade said, her smirk growing from devious to downright malicious. At the sight of her smirk, Shizune couldn't surpress a shiver that passed through her as she followed her sensei, glad that she wasn't the one it was for.

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Walking through the streets, both Shizune and Tsunade shook with unreleased laughter as they saw exactly how quickly and enthusiastically Naruto had taken to her 'orders.' Stores were doused in a veritable rainbow of vibrant, garish colors, others reeking of a symphony of noxious odors, people were either covered in mud, paint, or... well, niether wanted to guess what the third substance was. And even now she could see an army of orange-clad blondes continuing with a ghusto she wished most shinobi could use.

At the sight of the strolling Hokage, an overweight bald man that looked as if he had been attacked by a paint store waddled over as he cried "Tsunade-sama! Tsunade-sama! The-the-the brat has gone mad! You need to do something about him!"

Looking around casually, Tsunade asked "How can you be sure that it is indeed young Uzumaki Naruto that is doing this?"

"I saw him with my own two eyes! Dressed in that orange abomination, with that damned grin of his!" the man replied, and Tsunade said "I see. Well then, I shall investigate and see if it is indeed the brat who is doing this, and a proper punishment given." Starting to walk away, she missed the darkening of the portly man's eyes at the kanji adorning her back.

However, she didn't miss the muttered "Demon lover" in a tone he believed wouldn't be heard. And the next thing the man knew, a immaculately manicure hand was gripping him by the throat, his feet dangling at least four feet off the ground, paniced eyes staring down into the hard gaze of the Hokage, a look reminiscent of a predator eying a fresh kill in the normally warm chocolate orbs.

"What did you say?" she snarled, and clawing ineffectually at her wrist, he gasped and replied "No-no-nothing."

Tossing him aside like a sack of garbage and listening as he crashed satisfyingly into his cart, she said coldly "That's what I thought you said. It seems that you are among those who, thanks to Sarutobi-sensei, have forgotten that Konohagakure is a dictatorship, and I am your ruler. Speak to me that way again and you shall face a much harsher punishment."

Walking away from the frightened man pulling himself from the broken remains of his cart, Shizune looked to her teacher and asked "A-are you sure that was wise?"

"Of course not, Shizune." Tsunade replied casually, looking to the Hokage monument where her head was already under construction before continuing "I've just been walked on too much since returning, and I refuse to allow people like that believe just because the Council has deemed me an old piece of carpet used to clean their shoes on, that everyone can do the same."

Looking into the dark eyes of her assistant, Tsunade added "But I do believe that I was correct in stating that sensei's the main reason for a lot of this. He was old, ready and due for retirement, so when he was forced to retake the hat, he didn't want to improve the village anymore. He merely wanted peaceful seas so the boat wouldn't rock until his next successor was found, allowing parasites like Danzou and the council to dig deeper into the flesh of Konoha, and those small wounds have festered into the open sores they are today."

Shizune merely turned her eyes to the road, silently thinking of what her teacher had said. Smiling, Tsunade patted the younger woman on the shoulder as she said "Come on, Shizune. We've got more important things to do than gaze at our own navels."

"Right, Tsunade-sama." Shizune said with a nod, her mood rising as she and her teacher hurried along to the Hokage Tower to begin the next stage of their plan.

As the walked, they passed under a pair of ANBU standing atop a building. One was a purple-haired woman wearing a cat mask and with a traditional ninjato strapped to her back, handle rising above her shoulder. Her partner was a black-haired a man wearing what appeared to be a wolf mask, and instead of a ninjato, he had a pair of Chinese hook swords crossed at his lower back. 'Cat' was watching 'Wolf', who was leaning against a wall doubled over in laughter, holding his stomach.

"Do you believe we should stop Uzumaki-kun Shichigoro?" 'Cat' asked, and he shook his head, gasping for breath as he panted "N-no way, Yuu-Yuugao! I-I ha-haven't had th-this good a la-laugh since he be-became a Genin!" Straightening up, he gave a took a few more deep breaths, collecting himself before adding "Besides, from what I've heard on the shinobi grapevine, he's been banished from the village. Nothing we can do to as loyal a kid as him can match that."

Turning, they saw a Naruto wearing a black bandana over his head that went over his eyes with matching hat and cape land before an unsuspecting villager. Before she could react, he'd drawn a paintbrush and with three quick slashes, had painted an 'N' on her chest in bright orange, which was noticable on her red top. As she cried out in shock, he leapt away, looking quite ridiculous with his cape fluttering behind him, paintbrush raised like a sword.

"THE DREAD PIRATE NARUTO STRIKES AGAIN FOR RAMEN LOVERS EVERYWHERE!"

At hearing that cry, Shichigoro collapsed to the rooftop they stood on, howling with laughter as Yuugao failed to hide her own laughter, though she managed to retain more dignity than her partner.

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Upon the Hokage monument, four orange-clad figures worked feverously with spraypaint and paintbrushes, leaving their mark on the faces watching over the village from such a high vantage point. The rigging system he'd come with during his academy days was refined and improved into a marvel of simplicity and efficiency, allowing him to work far faster than ever before.

Red, orange, blue, green, yellow, pink, every color was being used. But instead of the haphazard grafitti he'd done as a student, he had more time to work, using a massive henge to keep his 'masterpiece' and the work he was doing on it a secret until it could be revealed. And he grinned, barely able to wait until he was leaving the village, when his masterwork would be unleashed upon a waiting public.

He couldn't supress a childish giggle as he imagined the looks on their faces when it finally was.

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A trio of 10 year olds charged through the streets, wearing green goggles over their eyes along with a hat and cape matching that of the 'Dread Pirate Naruto'. The leader, a boy in yellow with a green scarf, had a couple cans of shaving cream, spraying down unsuspecting people with their contents. Behind him was an orange-haired girl with rosey cheeks, a bag of paint-filled balloons hanging from her arm, which she was tossing at those who avoided being hit with shaving cream or at buildings.

And at the rear was a boy with a snotty nose and his goggles lenses being specially made. He was carrying a sack of toilet paper, which was being strung from trees, buildings, and people alike.

The trio, known as the Konohamaru corps, had decided to join their 'aniki' in his final harrah of pranking, a decision endorsed by Konohamaru's uncle, Naruto himself, and even the boy's mentor Ebisu.

Of course, if anyone asked, the bet he made with Iruka on whether or not his 'honorable student's' group could cause more mayhem than the reigning prankster king Naruto had nothing at all to do with it.

Nope. Not a thing.

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Sakura sat on her bed, hugging a teddy bear tight against her chest, deep in thought about what had happened today with Tsunade, Ino, and Kakashi. Her room, once the epitome of what a girl's room should look like, had undergone a metamorphasis into one that belonged to a shinobi. The walls were still pink, but they now held shelves stacked with books on chakra theory, chakra training, and Konoha history, along with other books she enjoyed reading. The walls also held replicas of various shinobi weaponry, including a staff, a ninjato, and even Zabuza's legendary Kubikiri Houcho, though none were actually used.

On her bedside table sat an alarm clock, a lamp, and a picture frame. But instead of holding a picture of just Sasuke, it held a picture of Team Seven. She was standing smiling between Sasuke and Naruto, the former scowling and the latter giving one of his bright grins. Behind them stood Kakashi, giving his trademark eyesmile to the camera, his hand proudly on Sasuke's head.

In fact, the only thing from her 'old life' still inside the room was her teddy bear 'Fuu-chan', which she'd had for as long as she could remember. The teddy bear was rather old, with several multi-colored patches standing out on her otherwise brown cloth 'skin', and one button-eye missing. However much she tried to be a shinobi and have her room decorated as such, the pinkette just couldn't get rid of the teddy bear that had listened to her hopes, dreams, fears, and insecurities when noone else would.

"Fuu-chan, what should I do?" Sakura asked, turning the bear so they were facing one another.

"I mean, the sensei I thought was so cool turned out to be a complete ass, Sasuke-kun tried to betray everyone who ever cared or supported him for power and even tried to kill his best friend! As for Naruto... He was always so nice to me and I never noticed him, yet he almost got himself killed and willingly gave up his own dreams of romance just to make me happy."

"Should I take Tsunade-sama's offer? Ino said that she and our friends would be supportive of me either way, but Sasuke-kun... In spite of everything, I still love him." Sakura said to the bear, and asked "Do you think this is how Naruto feels when it comes to me? He's tired of being hurt, but he can't stop from loving me. And I've given him more than enough reason to do so, haven't I?"

"And kissing Ino... What was I thinking?"

_**'You were thinking how damn sexy that ponytailed blonde is, and want her beneath you, moaning your name like you're Kami and she's praying to you.'**_

_'Noone asked you!'_

_**'Well, you were asking the bear, so I thought answering was free game.'**_

_'Yeah, I was asking Fuu! Not 'inner-Sakura', Fuu! Is your name Fuu? No, no it isn't.'_

_**'You don't have to be such a bitch to me! I'm only trying to HELP!'**_

_'Well, what do you think I should do?'_

_**'Do it! Training from Tsunade, Chuunin rank, and getting mucho onigiri points with our sexy whisker-faced blonde and his hot lavender-eyed crush, so potential threesome! So many pros, so few cons, it'd be ridiculous not to take it!'**_

Turning to her teddy bear, Sakura sighed and said "Well, what do you think, Fuu-chan?" Listening silently for a few moments, the pinkette nodded with a smile as she said "You're right, Fuu-chan!"

Hugging it tightly, she said "Thanks for the advice! You're so helpful, unlike a certain _someone else_ I could mention."

_**'HEY!'**_

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Tsunade stared down at the scroll she'd been writing on with a sense of satisfaction. Even though she had no power over the fate of Naruto, she could still make sure that the council and village understood exactly what it meant to get on the bad side of a Senjuu, especially her. Rereading her work, a sense of pride filled her, and she smirked wondering how many of the old fuckers were going to suffer from strokes over this.

_I, Senjuu Tsunade, Godaime Hokage, do hereby appoint Hyuuga Hinata as my second apprentice, effective immediately._

_I, Senjuu Tsunade, Godaime Hokage, do hereby appoint Uzumaki Naruto as apprentice of Jiraiya of the Sannin, effective immediately._

_I, Senjuu Tsunade, Godaime Hokage, do hereby release the contents of the Hokage library into my possession to be returned at my discretion._

_I, Senjuu Tsunade, Godaime Hokage, do hereby appropriate the sum total of 8,857,411 ryo from the village's accounts to be paid to Uzumaki Naruto as peperation for thirteen years of emotional abuse and criminal negligence done to him by most of Konoha's citizens and its justice system._

_I, Senjuu Tsunade, Godaime Hokage, do hereby order the Hyuuga clan to pay reperations to Hyuuga Hinata in the form of 1,346,899 ryo for years of emotional abuse done to her by members of the Hyuuga, Hiashi in particular._

_I, Senjuu Tsunade, Godaime Hokage, do hereby promote Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Hinata to the position of Chuunin, effective immediately._

_I, Senjuu Tsunade, Godaime Hokage, do hereby release the Sandaime's law regarding the parentage of Chuunin Uzumaki Naruto, effective on the day of his banishment._

_I, Senjuu Tsunade, Godaime Hokage, do hereby instate Jiraiya of the Sannin as Rokudaime Hokage, effective on the day of Uzumaki Naruto's banishment._

_I, Senju Tsunade, Godaime Hokage, do hereby ban the use of seals or jutsu meant to control or punish individuals from being placed upon any willing or unwilling member of this village. Any and all of such seals and jutsu must be registered with the office of the Hokage, complete with a method for removal. Any individual or group who is found to be using such seals or jutsu or has used such seals or jutsu in the past without a method of removal is to be executed publicly, regardless of rank, social status, or standing within the village, as a warning to those who wish to use such methods. Any person subjected to such seal or jutsu, should it be unable to be removed, shall be granted land and monetary compensation on the order of one million ryo for every year they have been subjected to the seal or jutsu in question, the money for which will be taken from the accused's accounts or lands._

_I, Senjuu Tsunade, Godaime Hokage, do hereby pardon myself, my first apprentice Shizune, my second apprentice Hinata, Jiraiya's apprentice Uzumaki Naruto, clan head Inuzuka Tsume, and ________________ of all crimes against Konohagakure no Sato and Hi no Kuni. Also, I do hearby release them from any and all obligations or duties to Konohagakure no Sato past, present, or future, including from the shinobi ranks of Konohagakure no Sato, with all current ranks and titles, to move about freely around the country of Hi no Kuni. However, should they choose to do so, they reserve the right to rejoin the ranks of Konoha shinobi should such an offer be made._

The empty space had been left for the possible addition of Haruno Sakura, pending tomorrow's meeting. Should she deny, the scroll could easily be edited to remove the open space. Carefully rolling it up, she set the scroll beside two others. One contained the combined repirations for both Naruto and Hinata, the money being taken out by Shizune, while the other contained the Hokage library, including sensei's summoning contract as well as the Forbidden Scroll. Looking at the scroll holding her orders, the blonde wondered if she would be adding her sochi's teammate Sakura to the scroll tomorrow morning or not.

Turning to the large window, she burst into a fit of laughter at the sight of a large ball explode, raining multi-colored paint upon several buildings and ususpecting people on the street.


	6. The Day of Exodus

I do not now, nor have I ever owned Naruto.

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Tsunade blinked blearily at her desk, head drooping closer and closer to it as the sun rose in the picture window behind her as she cursed herself for having Sakura and Hinata meet her so damn early. Paperwork sat forgotten on the side ofr desk, and most of it would remain there, because she knew that a lot of it was simply civilian or shinobi bitching about something they should be able to handle themselves.

A smirk crossed her face as she knew that most of the bitching tiday was about her 'hands mission' prankathon pulled by Naruto, with unsuspected help from his little fanclub, Anko, Kiba, Kotetsu and Izumo, turning it into a contest of sorts.

The winner had been decided at sundown, with Naruto squeaking out a victory, with the Konohamaru Corps and Anko tying for second, Kiba claiming third, with the team of Kotetsu and Izumo coming in last last. The prankers had been privately 'disciplined' by herself to keep up appearances. Anko was probably still bitching that there wasn't enough dango at the private 'punishment' banquet she 'forced' them to attend at the Hokage Mansion.

She'd heard that Ebisu was displeased with the 'honorable grandson' and his friends for their actions yesterday, believing they should have done better and won the prank war (not to mention his bet). Of course, Konohamaru merely used his loss as further proof of the blonde's worthiness as a rival, declaring that he would beat the blonde someday. Kiba, for his part, claimed he would have won had he not still been injured, with Kotetsu and Izumo both showing themselves to be ashamed of their actions... at least publicly. Privately they both couldn't stop laughing and even planning to start another one next month just for the Hell of it.

As for Anko... Well, she didn't give a shit about what anyone thought, merely enjoying the event, and even had a little fun at the end of their banquet with the contest's 'victor'. Poor blonde was probably still traumatized after the purple-haired tokubetsu Jounin rubbed up against his back, making sure to press her barely-concealed chest into his back as she purred lewd, downright obscene things in his ear and gently stroked his whisker marks.

Naruto currently had a 'title belt' bearing the Konoha leaf surrounded by the words 'Konoha's Heavyweight Prankster Champion' on the large gold-painted front plate. How such a belt was so quickly and expertly created was unknown, though it was assumed that Tenten's father, an ex-ninja who used his ninjutsu skills to quickly and efficiently create weapons, did so. Said belt was even now being worn by the proud blonde, whose smile grew as he showed it off to his friends, adding a little good-natured boasting with the visual.

'_Maybe I can get a few minutes of sleep before one of them gets here...'_ Tsunade thought as she absent-mindedly grabbed some of the paperwork and made a make-shift pillow pile to rest her head on.

A smirk crossed her face as she realized '_Hey, all their useless bitching actually HAS some use after all!_'

She was fast asleep as soon as her head touched the papers, which softly crinkled as her head rested on them.

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Her walk was slow, deliberate, much different now that the 'Day of Reckoning' as it were was now upon her. Yesterday she'd been so assured of her decision, having gone to sleep believing she was doing the right thing. But now, now that she was actually about to face the precipice and consider diving into the dark abyss, filled with the uncertainties her choice would bring. She was...

She was honestly and truly scared. Terrified of what exactly could be awaiting her at the bottom of that fall. Would it be acceptance, friendship, even... the love she had yearned so long for. Or would it be the same rejection and cold indifference boardering on disdain she'd been given so many times before.

But the thought of those bright, expressive blue orbs of Naruto's giving anything less than complete and unconditional friendship and love seemed... wrong. As if they were wholly incapable of doing such a thing except to his most hated enemies, but even then there would be a shimmer of hope that a more amicable co-existance could be found between Naruto and his enemy.

That was the paradox of the blonde, a boy who'd been shown so much hatred, so much emotional abuse that his being so open and friendly to everyone around him should have been impossible. And yet, he gave his heart to anyone willing to offer him any form of relationship, even if it was merely the same common courtesy of accepting his existance everyone else got instinctually.

"Hey Hinata! What are you doing out so early?" Sakura asked as she jogged up to the beige coat-wearing heiress, falling into step with her as the two walked down the street, grumbling genin teams and workers cleaning up the remains of yesterday's 'Prank War'.

"I-I-I have a meeting wi-with the Hokage..." Hinata replied, and Sakura blinked a few times before asking "You have one too?" At the demure girl's nod, Sakura remembered the question she was asked before leaving the blonde Hokage's office yesterday, and her answer of Hyuuga Hinata.

"Oh... about what?" Sakura asked, and Hinata replied "I-I don't think I sh-should tell you."

Sakura nodded, but then asked casually "Is it about Naruto and his banishment?" At the stunnned look Hinata was giving her, Sakura knew that was indeed the case. And to be honest, she was surprised that the Hokage took her advice seriously.

Finally, the pale-eyed girl found her voice and asked conspiratorially "Ho-how do you know?"

"Because that's what my meeting is about too." Sakura answered, and Hinata nodded, smiling softly that at least someone on the blonde's team cared about him. Ino, despite being logical, was also a huge gossip, and the tale given to her by the pinkette next to her was quickly making its way through the shinobi circles. Much like civilians, shinobi were generally terrible about gossip. But unlike civilians, gossip with shinobi was passed with the same secrecy that a vital message was, going only to those they could trust with the info.

And at the moment, shinobi opinion of the famed Sharingan-eye Kakashi was at an all-time low, considering the sheer hypocrisy he showed in regards to his own frequently-spouted 'motto', one given by his sensei, the God-like Minato. Furthermore, no matter how old they were, most shinobi revered their Jounin sensei as a deity, a wise and benevolent figure who was to take their students and mold them into the shinobi they were today.

For Kakashi to besmirch such a venerable position in such a way, allowing personal bias to overtake him and cause him to ruin not one, but two future shinobi of Konoha at such a vulenerable stage of their career was considered the very height of idiocy. Which meant, in the eyes of most shinobi, Kakashi didn't need to be doing missions. He needed to be given a box of crayons, some coloring books, and put into a playpen so he couldn't hurt himself or others with his stupidity.

Of course, being the quiet, introverted girl she was, many people felt her a trustworthy person to soothe the gossip itch. So she was quickly informed of Sakura's interaction with Kakashi, but not much else, since while a gossip, Ino knew some things were too personal (and in her case embarrassing) to tell. Thus Hinata didn't know how Sakura took it, but considering that the people who told her didn't speak negatively of the girl, she probably believed her reaction to be as negative as everyone else's.

Entering the large building of the Hokage in silence, they quickly walked up to the office door of their leader, the secretary nodding to them before pushing the call button and speaking "Genins Haruno and Hyuuga are here to speak to you, Hokage-sama."

After several long moments, the speaker came to life with a sleep-heavy reply of "Send'em in."

"Please enter." the woman said, motioning to the wooden door. Looking to one another, both girls nodded and opened the door to their future... and both nearly burst into a fit of laughter. Because sitting behind her desk was Tsunade with a half-asleep look on her face, a pile of papers before her with one sticking to the side of her face.

"Ho-Hokage-sama..." Sakura managed while fighting her giggles, and at the woman's questioning gaze, pointed to the side of her face to indicate the paper stuck there. Blinking blearily several times, the woman reached up and felt the paper stuck to her face. This woke her up quickly, and she removed it before working hastily to somewhat organize her pillow into a stack of papers.

Coughing into her hand, a mild blush on her face, the woman said "Well... You both know why you're here, correct?" At their affirmative nods, the blonde woman nodded as she asked "Remember, that this is going to be very difficult for both of you, and noone will fault you should you decide not to. So, are you willing to aid me in helping Naruto?"

Hinata's previous insecurities flooded her mind, trying to break her fragile grip on her reserve. However, the smiling face of her blonde crush appeared in her mind's eye, reminding her of the person they were banishing. The determined young man, who in spite of his faults, worked hard to better himself and would gladly die to protect the village he loved, even if they would sooner have him dead than do the same for him.

Frowning as she found her resolve, Hinata nodded and spoke in a soft, yet still firm tone "Yes, Hokage-sama."

Watching Hinata, Sakura smiled slightly as she turned to face their leader as she said "Of course, Hokage-sama."

Smiling at the two young women before her, Tsunade folded her hands before her on the desk as she said "Very well, but do not forget this was your decision and you knew the difficulty of it. Now, I want the both of you to pack anything you might find necessary for an extended trip outside the village."

"Why?" Sakura asked, and Tsunade replied "Because you are going to be joining chuunin Uzumaki Naruto during his banishment." Both stared at the brown-eyed woman in stunned silence, their minds trying to decipher what they were just told.

Finally, Hinata's synapses fired off in the right order to allow an intelligent response of "What?"

"That is what you have agreed to. To join him during his exile and make sure that he has friends during this, the most difficult time in his life. Like stated, to say this won't be easy is an understatement, so do either of you wish to back out. This will be your last chance, for after you leave this office, you are bound to a mission given by the Hokage. So, do you wish to decline?" Tsunade asked, carefully studying the two girls, who'd become stone still in thought.

Finally, as one they answered "No."

Smiling, Tsunade said "Thank you both. And congratulations."

"Fo-for what?" Sakura asked, and pulling a pair of Chuunin vests from her desk, she laid them before the two girls, fighting not to laugh at their dumbstruck faces as she said "For your promotions to the rank of Chuunin by order of the Hokage. Naruto has been too, and will be given his vest later. As for you two, I suggest you pack them away while still in the village. Seeing you both in those vests would raise suspicions we don't need at this stage in our plans."

"O-of course, Hokage-sama!" Hinata said, taking it and holding it as if it would turn to dust if she handled it with anything less than the utmost care. Beside her, Sakura was still staring at the vest, her fingers gently running over the fabric, as if trying to imprint the texture of the vest to memory.

Smiling, Tsunade said "Hurry along and pack. I made sure he'd be leaving soon, and you don't want him to get a head start on you."

Both nodded, carefully sealed away their vests in a scroll, and left the office as fast as possible without running. Watching them leave, she took hold of the scroll with her official orders and quickly made a few edits.

_I, Senjuu Tsunade, Godaime Hokage, do hereby pardon myself, my first apprentice Shizune, my second apprentice Hinata, Jiraiya's apprentice Uzumaki Naruto, clan head Inuzuka Tsume, and my third apprentice Haruno Sakura of all crimes against Konohagakure no Sato and Hi no Kuni. Also, I do hearby release them from any and all obligations or duties to Konohagakure no Sato past, present, or future, including from the shinobi ranks of Konohagakure no Sato, with all current ranks and titles, to move about freely around the country of Hi no Kuni. However, should they choose to do so, they reserve the right to rejoin the ranks of Konoha shinobi should such an offer be made._

_I, Senjuu Tsunade, Godaime Hokage, do hereby promote Haruno Sakura to the rank of Chuunin and take her on as my third apprentice, effective immediately._

Rolling it back up, she carefully sealed it and set it aside. Reaching into her desk, she pulled out a bottle of sake and a small dish. Pouring herself some, she lifted it into the air, said "To the continued fortuitous fruition of my plans!", tilted the ceramic dish back, and drained it of its contents before pouring herself a second cup.

As she downed the second cup, her door opened and Tsume walked in, took one look at Tsunade's current activity, and smirked as she asked "You do realize doing that alone makes you an alchoholic, right?"

"Well then, why don't you join me so I'm just a drunk." Tsunade said with a smirk as she quickly brought out a second dish, and the Inuzuka matriarch sat before her, watching as the buxom blonde poured a cup for her.

"So, how did it go with your clan?" Tsunade asked, and downing her sake, Tsume replied "They understand. In fact, most of them want to come with me, feeling that the Council's blatant disrespect shows them to be some of the most disloyal mongrels ever seen and unworthy of serving alongside. I convinced them not to do so just yet, but they still aren't happy with the traitorous acts of the council against the village 'Alpha'."

"And did you tell Hana and Kiba about your more 'personal' reasons?" Tsunade asked, and Tsume nodded as she said "Hana expressed the fact she'd begun sniffing around the blonde, and Kiba... Well..."

"Well what?" Tsunade asked, and Tsume replied "He went into convulsions and almost swallowed his own tongue." Tsunade spit her fourth cup of sake into the air as she burst into a fit of laughter.

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Ino yawned as she sat up in bed, blinking the sleep from her eyes as her covers pooled around her waist, stretching her arms. Shoving the blankets away, she turned and hung her feet over the edge of her bed, feet slipping into a pair of fluffy white bunny slippers. Wiggling her toes in them with a small smile, she stood and stretched her limbs, listening to the satisfied pops of joints after being disused for so long.

Rubbing at an eye, she walked out of her bedroom and down the stairs to the living room, where her father sat reading the paper... and Naruto sat on the couch, smiling somewhat somberly as he saw her.

"Na-Naruto?" Ino asked, not believing her eyes, and the blonde waved as he replied "Hey Ino-chan! I like your pajamas!"

Ino looked down at her pajamas, which consisted of a light purple baby tee with smiling cartoon kitten on the front, deep purple pajama pants, and her bunny slippers. When out and about, she was about trendy and sexy, trying to get the attention of Sasuke with her looks and budding body, which caused most boys to melt into puddles of goo. But for bed, the order of business was comfort, not style.

Crossing her arms over her chest, she smiled as she realized that she made even comfortable look damn sexy.

"So, what brings ya to my house so early Naruto?" Ino asked as she joined them in the living room, and the blonde grinned sheepishly as he replied "A favor... A rather personal one."

Without even looking she knew her father was listening, and taking a seat next to the blonde Uzumaki, she smiled as she asked "What kind of favor?"

"Well, you probably don't know, but I've been... well... errr..." Naruto muttered, and Ino finished "You've been banished."

"Wha? How?" Naruto asked, and Ino said "I'm a shinobi, I have my sources." She obviously enjoyed the look of awe being given to her by the whisker-cheeked blonde beside her.

"I told her."

"DADDY!" Ino cried, trying her damnest to glare holes through the newspaper he was looking at, and Naruto managed to hide his snickering behind his hands, shoulders shaking ever so slightly.

"Anyways!" Ino said, rounding on the blonde, giving him a look that stopped his snickering as she asked "What is this personal favor you need of me?"

"Well... as you know, I'm being banished, and I need you to look after someone for me." Naruto said, and at this, Ino raised an eyebrow as she asked "Who? Sakura?" A thought crossed her mind, and the pale blonde smirked as she added "Or is it Hinata?"

"NO!... No." Naruto replied, and continued "It's actually a dear old friend of mine... My only friend before Team 7, actually." Reaching into his pocket, he retrieved a scroll, which recieved a curious look from Ino, and with a nip of his thumb, he dragged it across one of the seals on the scroll. In a burst of smoke, an orange stuffed fox sat on the paper. It was missing a black button-like eye, and its orange fur was threadbare in some places, with other places covered in striped, poka-dotted, or solid color patches. One of the large ears drooped down, and its fuzzy white-tipped orange tail seemed to be new, having been replaced, a blue bandana with a crudely-made hitai-ate on it hung around the fox's neck completed its appearance.

"This is Chuu, and I would bring him with me, but he's very loyal and loves Konoha, so he doesn't want to leave. We'll miss each other, but I can't bare to force him to come with me. So I was hoping you could look after him for me while I'm gone." Naruto said, unconsciously stroking the toy's head.

"Why me? Why not Sakura, Hinata, or anyone else?" Ino asked, and Naruto looked away as he said "Well, I would, but he doesn't feel safe or comfortable around Hinata-chan's family, and I think Fuu would get jealous if Sakura-chan brought Chuu home."

"You know about Fuu?" Ino asked, and Naruto nodded as he said "Yeah, during the second part of the Chuunin exam. She was feeling scared, so I decided that it might help if we talked. During our talk she told me about Fuu, but was embarrassed afterwards, so I told her about Chuu."

Looking hopefully to the Yamanaka heiress, Naruto asked "So, will you take care of Chuu while I'm away?"

Giving him a reassuring smile, Ino nodded and said "Of course!"

"Thanks!" Naruto said with a relieved smile of his own, and said "If you need to talk or feeling lonely or something, you can speak to Chuu. He's a pretty good listener, and he's always willing to lend a comforting back to cry on. Just make sure that he gets ramen at least once a day. He tends to get cranky when he doesn't."

"Well, he sounds like a great friend." Ino said, and Naruto answered "Yeah, he is." Taking hold of the fox plushy, he lifted it up and turned it so they were eye to eye.

"Chuu, this is it. Might be a while before we see each other again, so I want you to be good for Ino-chan." Naruto said, and listening to something only he could hear, he gave the fox a stern look as he said "No, I don't believe that Ino-chan would appreciate your perverted sense of humor very much, so I don't want you to be telling _those_ kinds of jokes around her."

Listening to nothing, the blonde's eyes glistened as he said "Yeah, I'm gonna miss you too, Chuu. Don't forget about me while I'm away, OK?" Hugging the fox doll, Naruto sniffed and sat the fox before Ino, wiping his eyes on the back of his sleeve.

"Well, I need to be going." Naruto said, rising off the couch as he said "Thanks again, Ino."

Watching the blonde exit the house, she heard her father turned the paper. But when she wasn't looking, he'd peak around or over the newspaper, watching her study the fox plush carefully.

Through his secret surveillance, he saw his daughter pick up the stuffed fox and say "Well Chuu, I guess I should show you to your new room." Returning to his newspaper and actually reading it, Inoichi chuckled as he heard his daughter scold "No! You can NOT sleep in my panty drawer, ero-kitsune!"

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Naruto sighed as he walked toward the gates of Konoha for what might be the last time. He'd made sure that visiting Ino to get her to take care of Chuu was the last thing he did as a 'Konoha shinobi'. Now all that was left was to begin his unjust banishment, and he knew that many people would be estatic for this. But a small smile made its way across his face, because he would be able to reveal his masterpiece.

Closing in on the gate, he stopped, blinked his eyes, then began rubbing them. After vigorously rubbing his fist into them, he blinked and looked again, expecting what he saw to be gone. But Tsunade, Shizune, Tonton, Sakura, Hinata, and Kiba's mom were still standing there, all looking to him expectantly.

Blinking, he brough his hands before him in a seal, squeezed his eyes shut, and called out "KAI!" as his chakra flaired. Flairing his chakra again, he slowly opened his eyes, expecting the cruel genjutsu to be gone.

But no, the small group was still there, all of them still watching him.

Scratching his head, Naruto asked "What kind of genjutsu is this?" To which Tsunade rolled her eyes and said "Naruto, trust me, this isn't a genjutsu."

"Bu-but why are you all here?" the blonde asked, and Sakura smiled, wrapping an arm around her teammate's neck as she said "Because we're going to be joining you, you big goof!"

"What! But Sakura-chan, Hinata-chan! You can't just pack up and leave for me!" Naruto cried, before looking to Tsunade as he said "And what about your position as Hokage!? I didn't damn near kill myself to get you to accept just for you to blow it off!" He finally looked to Tsume as he asked "And what about Kiba? How can you just leave your son for a stranger?!"

Tsunade sighed as she said "Naruto, I refuse to simply sit by while those bastards on the Council walk all over me and toss you out like trash. And didn't you say you thought of me as a mother?" At the younger blonde's nod, Tsunade grinned and said "Well, what kind of mother would I be if I let them abuse their authority by unjustly banishing **my** son and not follow him."

"As for me and Hinata, we both care about you Naruto! We were offered the chance to join you by Tsunade-sama, and we willingly chose to join you. You're one of my closest friends, and I simply refuse to let you go out in the world all alone. You wouldn't last three days without me, you baka." Sakura said, and when Naruto looked at her, she stuck her tongue out at him playfully.

"Bu-but what about Sasuke?" Naruto asked, and the pinkette's smile disappeared for several moments as she thought about the last Uchiha. Finally, she smiled and said "He's home, you succeeded. And besides, I think Sasuke would want me to follow you."

"Re-really? Why?" Naruto asked, and at this her smile fell again as she said "I was a real bitch to you Naruto trying to get in good with Sasuke." At his confused look, Sakura said "But whenever I started being a pill, Sasuke would always defend you. I... well, after you went after him, I was forced to do some serious soul searching, and came to a realization."

"What?" Naruto asked, big blue eyes staring hopefully at her, and she said "You didn't deserve the way I treated you, Naruto. You were always nothing but nice to me, no matter how awful I was to you. And I finally realized that. But when you and Sasuke were brought back, I was..." Tears flooded green eyes, and she swallowed the lump down as she said "I was so scared that you were going to die, just to make me happy. And I would never get to apologize to you, or... or even just thank you..."

Before she could break down, Naruto wrapped his arms around her middle and buried his nose into her neck, tears quickly wetting her collar. Sakura stood shocked by the reaction, and awkwardly patted his back.

Finally, Naruto broke away and giving her a smile, he said "Yo-you don't ha-have to apologize, Sakura... Bu-but thank you anyways."

"You're welcome." Sakura said, her own tears flooding her cheeks. Clapping, Tsunade said "Alright you two, I hate to break up this touching scene, but we really do need to get going before people start waking up and suspicion is aroused. We'll talk more later."

Everyone nodded, and with two members of Team 7 quickly drying their eyes, they exited the large gates of Konoha. When asked hours later by several angry people, both Izumo and Kotetsu claimed they never saw anything.

Which was true, due to the VERY interesting line of ants that happened to be making its way across the road carrying food back home.

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OOC: For people interested, there's a poll on my bio page regarding whether or not I should continue my other story, **Mugiwara Naruto**. Go vote now! And don't worry, Renegades isn't going to be going anywhere! So keep reading and watch where I take this motley crew under Tsunade's command. Trust me, it'll be GOOD!


	7. Explanations and Deceptions

I do not now, nor have I ever owned Naruto.

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From their position on top of the Hokage monument, several Naruto clones nodded to one another with a wide grin. As one, they dropped the giant specialized henge that had been covering the monument while it was 'rennovated', allowing the village to see what had happened. And at the sight of the improved monument, many people were pointing at it, either to scream in horror or to show others what caused a sudden fit of laughter.

On top of a building with a prime position to see the monument, two ANBU were caught up in a fit of uproarous laughter, niether able to stand. They had both been drilled in the Shinobi laws of conduct for years, but unfortunately they constantly failed that particular test.

Lifting his mask to wipe his eyes, Shichigoro looked to his partner as he gasped "To-to-told ya it wa-was worth i-it!"

Panting, Yuugao replied "Wh-when yo-you're right, yo-you're right!" Both took another look before being overcome by another fit of laughter.

For the monument, once of four faces proudly staring over the village of Konoha with a fifth in the works, was now of four faces all grinning down at the village in evident amusement. Three of the faces were no longer of a former Hokage, but instead each was of the recently banished Uzumaki Naruto, and all four faces were painted masterfully, each face bearing a variety of kabuki-style facepaint.

The first was a grinning Naruto covering his eyes with his hands, the second was another grinning Naruto with fingers in his ears, and the third was also Naruto, though this one had his mouth covered with his hands. The fourth was still of Namikaze Minato, but now he was giving his best face-splitting grin, giving the village a 'one-fingered salute'.

(Flashback no Jutsu)

_Naruto wiped the sweat from his forehead on the back of his sleeve, splotches of paint adorning his clothes and face. Alongside him several more Naruto's, each paint-stained and sweating, held their own paintbrushes._

_"Hey brat, what're you doing?"_

_All the Naruto's looked at the owner of the voice, a purple-haired ANBU wearing a cat mask, her wolf-masked partner beside her. Their expressions were hidden behind their neutral masks, and their arms were crossed over their chests, giving them the appearance of an angry parent._

_"Err... just fixing up the monument as a gift to the village! Yeah... that's it!" Naruto replied, smiling nervously and scratching the back of his head. The two ANBU looked to one another for a few moments before nodding and returning to watching the caught blonde._

_"Well then, how about we give you some help." Wolf said, and Naruto gaped like a caught fish as he asked "Wha-what did you say?"_

_"I said that if you're going to do such an enormous favor for the village, it would be rude of us to not offer you assistance! In fact, we know some doton jutsu that would be perfect in your... ah... 'public service project' here." Cat replied, and the skeptical blonde asked "Re-really?"_

_"Of course, Naruto-san." Wolf stated, and as the two walked out onto the face of the first to begin working, Cat turned back and said "Just so you know, many ninja and most of ANBU disagree with what's happening to you." before following after Wolf. Naruto blinked several times and smiled, tears filling his eyes._

_"Alright men! We've got a lot to do and not much time to do it, so I want all of you to be working double-time! Understand?" Naruto yelled to his clones, who all saluted as one and went back to work with renewed vigor._

(Flashback no Jutsu: KAI!)

Most of the people laughing were shinobi, who had to both respect the level of skill for Naruto to finish such a project not only quickly but masterfully, and had to admit it was the blonde prankster's greatest prank. But what got most of the populace not doubled over in laughter more than the 'change' done to the monument, was what had been done to the Fourth's. A change not even Naruto knew about until the henge was raised.

Three thin, whisker-like lines rested upon each cheek of the blonde-haired, blue-eyed Hokage, giving him an unsettling resemblance to the just-banished Uzumaki Naruto, made more apparent with three likenesses of Naruto sitting right next to him. A resemblance so close, that many of the Council wanted to have the blonde executed and then run damage control before too many people began talking.

From his position on the Hokage tower, Jiraiya folded up his spyglass with a wide grin. Part one of his plan was complete. Now, it was time to start part two, along with several other 'side projects'.

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Naruto sat staring at the small group of women, who were staring back at him. Sitting forgotten beside him was a plate of food, something mirrored by the small group of women across from him.

"Sooo... why is Kiba's mom here?" Naruto asked, to which Tsume answered "My name's Tsume, gaki. And I'm here as a form of protest against the borderline traitorous actions of the council in regards to your banishment. As for leaving Kiba and Hana, I talked to both of them, and we finally decided that this was the best option."

"Were there other options?" Naruto asked, and the woman nodded as she said "Yeah, but most of them would result in a roaring rampage of bloodshed and carnage eventually leading to a bloody civil war between those loyal to the Hokage and those loyal to the Council."

"Well... I guess this was the best option." Naruto said with a nod, and Tsunade sent Tsume a look, which got the slightest of blushes and a scowl at the blonde-haired Hokage. Naruto didn't notice the exchange as he leaned back against the tree behind him, his arms crossed over his chest and his face scrunched up in his 'thinking look'. They giggled at how adorable of his 'thinking look', the blonde cracking his eyes to glare at them before returning to thinking. This, unfortunately, caused them to giggle more.

Finally, Naruto looked to Tsume, tilting his head like a confused fox as he asked "But why would you care about me being banished? I thought most of the people on the council hated me because of..." He looked to Hinata and Sakura as he added "You know."

"Know? Know what?" Sakura asked, and Tsunade sighed as she said "Alright you two, it appears that thanks to Naruto, I'm going to have to reveal some confidential information a LOT sooner than I wanted to concerning Naruto."

"What about him?" Sakura questioned, and Tsunade answered "Now, you both are aware of what October 10th is, right?"

"H-hai. It's t-the day that t-the Yondaime Ho-Hokage defeated the Ky-Kyuubi." Hinata replied, and Tsunade nodded as she continued "It is also the day Naruto was born. Now, what both of you need to understand is that a demon such as Kyuubi cannot be defeated by any mortal, nor can it be controlled... Well, except for those who had Great Uncle Hoshirama's DNA, or the darkest, most twisted of Uchiha. But since the Yondaime was niether Hoshirama nor an extraordinarily evil Uchiha, he had but one choice: to seal the monster away."

"And you can only seal demons such as the Gobi or stronger into a human, or more specifically, a human baby. They're the only ones with chakra coils undeveloped enough to be able to handle the Bijuu's chakra being added to their own. Now, consider the facts and you'll have your answer. But I want you to remember that, much like a kunai sealed within a scroll, the scroll does not become a kunai. It is merely a scroll with a kunai sealed in it."

Naruto watched for their reactions with baited anticipation, seeing an entire gamot of emotions flow across their faces as the two intelligent girls came to a realization with the information given. He winced, awaiting the hatred, the yelling, and finally the abandonment.

However, what he never expected was to have two blurs tackle him around the middle, knocking him onto his back as two pairs of thin arms showed surprising strength by trying to crush him. As he tried to catch his breath from being tackled and squeezed, he heard two distinct voices babble incoherently between sobs. Managing to look down, he saw it the familiar shade of bubblegum pink distinct to Sakura, as well as Hinata's own midnight mane.

"Wh-what..." Naruto gasped, but all that did was cause the sobbing babbling to grow stronger, as did the pressure being exerted on his poor body. Slowly turning a very interesting shade of blue, Naruto felt himself beginning to pass out.

"Alright ladies, let the brat go before you accidentally kill him with kindness." Tsunade said, and the two girls quickly released him as they sat on their heels, allowing him to gasp for air, color returning to his face.

"So-sorry Naruto." Sakura said, wiping her eyes on the back of her arm, Hinata nodding as she did the same. Pushing himself up off the ground into a seated position with one hand as the other held his chest, Naruto nodded and waved it off with a smile.

"W-we just di-didn't know th-that you we-were su-suffering under su-such a burden." Hinata softly added, and Naruto sighed, looking to his friends as he asked "So you don't think I'm the Kyuubi?"

"Please Naruto. If you were the Kyuubi, you wouldn't be such a scrawny goofball baka, now would you?" Sakura asked with a smile, sticking her tongue out playfully at her friend. Naruto tapped his chin in thought before giving a nod in agreement with a smile.

"Yeah! Because if I was the Kyuubi, I would be ten feet tall with a body chiseled out of granite, able to defeat Kakashi-sensei or even Hebi-teme with a offhand flick of my wrist." Naruto claimed while flexing and doing very Gai-like poses, getting smiles and eye rolls from his companions.

"And I'd probably be able to shoot lightning bolts from my eyes and fireballs from my butt! And I've never shot so much as smoke from it!" Naruto said, turning and bending forward to put his backside on display, smacking it as he did so. Tsunade laughed, Shizune gave a resigned sigh, and the other three females all blushed as they studied the offered backside.

"Alright brat. Now that we've all seen that flat ass of yours, we can get to work." Tsunade said, purposefully ignoring the scowl/pout from the blonde as he hurrumphed, sat down, and crossed his arms over his chest. But instead of showing them his anger at the remark, the trio of women merely noted how adorable he looked while doing it.

"Now, first thing we need to do is to pool together our resources and see what we've got to work with. Unseal everything you're carrying and group it in piles before you so we know a basic idea of what we have." Tsunade said. The others nodded, and began emptying their weapon pouches before them in small piles. They then began opening scrolls and unsealing weapons and other things.

What the others quickly noticed was just how quickly the blondes various piles were growing larger than theirs.

"Naruto, where'd you get all that? Don't tell me you spend most of your money on that stuff!" Sakura said, and the blonde merely grinned as he said "Nah! Its mostly stuff I found lying around, left by careless shinobi. You'd be surprised at what you can find if you just take a few seconds to do a little searching. I mean, I've found kunai and shuriken that were practically new just laying around in the throwing range early in the morning, long after the last person went home for the night. And all the wire I've found is enough for dozens of large spools."

Shaking his head, he said "I swear, some people can be so wasteful when they've never had to do without."

"And you have?" Tsume asked, and the blonde nodded as he replied "Yeah, but that was a long time ago. After I met Tuechi-jiji and Ayame-nee-chan, I spent less on food and no longer had to choose between food or rent."

Before anything more could be said, Naruto chose to change the subject by beginning to reseal much of his excess as he asked "So kaasan, what are we going to do now?"

"Well, there's a town nearby called Otafaku Gai where we can resupply and spend a night or two to properly plan a course of action for our little group. We'll also need to get some new clothes for you, Sakura, and Hinata." Tsunade said, and the blonde frowned as he muttered "But I like orange."

"I never said you can't wear orange, sochi." Tsunade said, continuing "You just can't wear that jumpsuit anymore. It's a little too distinctive, and we're going to need to be less distinctive from here on out."

"Yeah, and maybe you can do something about those 'distinctive' hot air balloons on your chest, Tsunade-sama." Tsume remarked with a grin, which recieved snickering from Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura, as well as a small smirk from Shizune. Tsunade merely frowned and said "You're one to talk, Tsume. You'd have to be blind not to recognize the Inuzuka markings on your cheeks."

Tsume scowled in return, and Shizune sighed as she said "Please don't kill one another, Tsunade-saichou, Tsume-sama."

"Oh, don't worry Shizune, I won't kill Tsume. I have more... creative ways to repay our dear Inuzuka than childish insults or murder." Tsunade replied with a grin, and other woman stared in horror at the thought of Tsunade telling the blonde boy her biggest secret.

"Errr... Do you know what's going on?" Naruto asked Sakura and Hinata, who both shrugged.

Naruto turned to Shizune and asked "How about you, nee-chan? Do you know what's going on?" The dark-haired woman merely sighed and said "Unfortunately I don't, Naruto-kun. And that what's scaring me most at the moment."

"Alright ladies and gentleman, lets get going to Otafaku Gai before night falls!" Tsunade suddenly spoke up with a smile, and the group quickly repacked and left, not leaving a trace they were ever there in the first place.

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Hatake Kakashi smiled at the noon sun as he removed the orange-covered book from his weapon's pouch, heading toward the hospital to look after his son. The Hokage Monument was in the process of being repaired from Naruto's final stunt, one that got a chuckle from even the masked cyclops. But as he found amusement in the remodelling, Kakashi purposefully ignored the similarities between his former student and his late sensei, even as they stood on display in the form of giant stone faces.

Of course, now that the uproar had died down, people were questioning how exactly he'd managed to make such drastic changes in so short a time. Doing so would require a number of powerful doton jutsu, and Kakashi made sure he knew every jutsu in the blonde's arsenal. And as he wanted, the blonde's arsenal was limited quite severely, with only three combat-useful jutsus. And none of them were an elemental jutsu powerful enough to do that.

So Kakashi KNEW the blonde had help, but didn't know who it was. His list of suspects at the moment could be considered quite large, as the decision to banish the boy had been very unpopular amongst the shinobi population. The chance to aid in the prank and 'stick it' to the Council as it were could be seen as too good to pass up by many of them.

As he walked, he ignored the glares and mutters from many shinobi who saw him, and mused that this must be what Naruto went through every day. Of course, he didn't have much use for the opinions of his fellow shinobi, because all that mattered was that Sasuke succeeded as a shinobi.

When he spoke of ninja who do not care about their teammates being less than trash to Team 7, he meant that if _Naruto_ and _Sakura_ didn't care about **Sasuke**, then they were less than trash. The blonde and pinkette were only stepping stones for Sasuke to reach the greatness he deserved, to make Obito and the Uchiha proud.

Of course, he never thought that if Obito was to show up and learn of Kakashi's actions, he wouldn't be proud. The Uchiha would be disgusted beyond belief, and most likely rip Kakashi's implanted Sharingan eye out with his bare hand.

But that didn't mesh with Kakashi's view of the world, so it was discarded, and instead replaced by Obito being proud of his best friend, and expecting nothing less for the second-to-last Uchiha. He would also be disgusted by the Council's decisions regarding Sasuke and help make sure Naruto stayed in the place befitting him: as Sasuke's footstool.

Turning a page in his copy of Icha Icha Paradise, Kakashi smiled under his mask, proudly wrapped up in the delusional fantasy he spent so long making, that he would probably snap should anyone ever unravel it.

Entering the hospital, his feet automatically carried him to the room containing Sasuke, where he expected the child to still be forcefully asleep. But as he entered the room, his eye widened as he heard an all-to-familiar scoff that could only belong to one person. Lowering his book, he looked to the bed where Sasuke sat, black eyes focused on the silver-haired Jounin.

"Sasuke, glad to see you're awake!" Kakashi said, closing his book and returning it to his weapons pouch as the boy asked "Why am I still here?"

"In the hospital?" Kakashi asked, but his student replied "No, why am I still in Konoha? I should be in Otogakure by now."

"You don't remember?" Kakashi asked, and the dark-haired boy replied "No... I remember the seal on my neck hurting, and black marks crossing my skin. But then all I remember is... hatred, pain, and red chakra."

"Red chakra?" Kakashi questioned, and the boy nodded as he said "Yeah... Red chakra. It was covering Naruto, but I remember his chakra always being a light blue..." Looking to his sensei, he asked "Is it a kekkai gekkai I never heard of?"

"No, Sasuke. It's..." the man sighed as he said "It's something I can't speak of. But I assure you its not a kekkai gekkai. You need to speak to the Hokage or Naruto about it."

At that, the teen frowned as he said "Where is Naruto? I want to talk to him."

"You can't." Kakashi said, and Sasuke's eyes widened marginally as he asked "Why not?"

"Because he's been banished from Konoha due to events surrounding the mission to rescue you." Kakashi answered, and Sasuke blinked before he scoffed and asked "Rescue? You honestly think the dobe and his team were 'rescuing' me?"

"Yes! There's no way you would willingly betray Konoha! But don't worry, I know Naruto was the reason behind it, and you don't have to worry about him anymore." Kakashi said happily, and Sasuke smirked as he said "You honestly believe that I did it because of the dobe?"

"Of course! Why else would you do it?" Kakashi asked, and Sasuke sneered as he said "Because of you, Hatake."

Kakashi's smile disappeared, panic in his eye as he asked "Wha-what?"

"I said it was because of you. Training under you, I couldn't match Sabaku no Gaara. But Naruto, training under Jiraiya, not only matched Gaara, but defeated him. If the dobe could get that strong training under a Sannin for a month, then imagine how strong _I_ could get training under a Sannin for a year or three! Simply put, Hatake, I realized how useless you were." Sasuke stated, his sneer growing.

Kakashi blinked, his body slumping as the reality of what Sasuke said seeped into his mind. But the carefully created fantasy would not be so easily destroyed, and he quickly found a way to get back in his son's good graces.

Kakashi straightened up, giving a smile as he said "You're right Sasuke. I wasn't training you properly." Sasuke raised an eyebrow as Kakashi continued "After you get out of here, I'll begin REALLY training you, and without Naruto to bug me and force me to take my attention off of you, I can really begin training you!"

"Hn." Sasuke scoffed, and Kakashi's smile grew as he said "In fact, I can even teach you the technique used by Naruto! By the time we're through, you'll be the strongest Hokage we've ever had."

Sasuke stared at the man, but nodded as he said "Alright, I'll continue training under you."

"Excellent." came a new voice, and both figures turned to the door, where Koharu stood, giving the duo a grandmotherly smile.

"Koharu-sama, what brings you here?" Kakashi asked, and the elderly woman replied "Why, just to tell our young Uchiha that as soon as he's well enough, he can return to training under you, Kakashi-san."

Kakashi looked to the woman with surprise, but she merely nodded and sent him a silent reply that she'd tell him later. He nodded back and both looked to Sasuke, who was smiling happily.

"Well, I should let you rest, Sasuke-kun." Koharu said, turning and hobbling out the door.

"She's right of course. You need to recover so we can get to some real training." Kakashi said, giving his student an eye smile before taking his seat, Icha Icha out and open before him. Sasuke merely sighed, slipping under the covers and closing his eyes, pictures of a dead Itachi dancing in his head.

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As she walked out of the hospital, Koharu sighed and spit on the ground, as if something foul had found its way into her mouth. Continuing to walk, she stopped and sat on a park bench, holding her cane before her, awaiting someone.

She was soon joined by the large form of Jiraiya, and as he took a seat, she tapped her cane onto the ground, a small genjutsu/barrier coming up around them, making the bench appear empty, and their conversation silenced beyond the edge of the barrier. As soon as it was up, the white-haired sage looked to the elderly woman as he asked "How did it go?"

"Kakashi looked like he was about five seconds from wetting himself in joy, and the Uchiha... Well, the Uchiha looked about as smug as ever." Koharu said. Sighing, she leaned back on the bench and asked "Are we doing the right thing, Jiraiya-chan?"

"I don't know. We can only do what we can and hope that we don't fuck up too badly." Jiraiya answered, and the elderly woman said "I just wish that we could do this in a way that didn't make me feel so dirty. I threw up a little in my mouth when I had to side with Danzou during the meeting, especially with Naruto-chan."

"I know Koharu-sama. But we need him to trust you as much as a man like him is capable of until we can dig that bloated tick of a man out and cure the infection he brought with him. And unfortunately the only way for him to trust you is for you to side with him in matters such as this, so you can get the information needed to finally be rid of him." Jiraiya said, the elderly woman nodded. She knew her teammate's student was right, but it still made her feel sick.

Sighing, the woman smiled and said "You know, Naruto-chan used to call me 'baa-chan'. He was always so cute waddling around Sarutobi's office with the Hokage's hat on his head." Her smile fell as she continued "And now... now I'm a acessory to his banishment, throwing the blonde who used to see me as his granny out of his home. Worse of all, my granddaughter Moegi-chan found out and now hates me for banishing her 'nii-san' from Konoha."

Feeling a heavy hand on her shoulder, she turned to the large man as he said "I know, Koharu. But I believe that when we can return him home and explain it to him, he and she will both understand and forgive you."

She gave a weary smile as she said "Thanks, Jiraiya-chan. You were always my favorite of Hiruzen's students." Closing her eyes, her smile disappeared again as she said "I just hope you're right, and my grandchildren can forgive me for what I've done, and understand it was for the good of Konoha."

A scowl crossed her face as she said " I've always hated those words. 'For the good of Konoha' has been used to justify some of the worst crimes and greatest tragedies this village has ever seen."

"I know, I know. Minato said those very words before he sealed the Kyuubi into Naruto, and Sarutobi used them when he explained why he kept me out of Konoha and Naruto's life for thirteen years with lies, deception, and long-term missions in faraway lands." Jiraiya said, scowling as he remembered that conversation with the elderly Hokage. And it turned out to be their last conversation, which ended with Jiraiya spewing a bile-loaded rant at his sensei and storming out of the office, leaving an ancient-looking Sarutobi whithered in his chair.

"Did you know that was the first time I ever had truly traitorous thoughts concerning Konoha, including killing sensei?" Jiraiya asked, and the woman sighed as she said "I've had that urge a few times myself as I was forced to watch that blonde cherub be all but abused emotionally from afar, unable to help due to both the council and Sarutobi to keep a low profile in concern to the blonde. 'Can't have influental figures showing too much concern for an orphan' was Sarutobi's excuse."

"You know what the sick part is? I believe that had I tried to do so, the only thing that would have caused sensei to stop me is that he wouldn't want me to become a missing-nin over it." Jiraiya said, and the woman as he nodded "And I believe, in a way, that Sarutobi-sensei was looking to die against Orochimaru. He was planning to use the Shiki Fuin all along, seeking to seal himself and Orochimaru into the Shinigama's belly. He probably felt that if he condemned himself to eternal torment alongside Orochi-teme, he could begin to forgive himself for the mistakes concerning both the snake bastard and Naruto."

"I know." Koharu said, and both fell silent, deep in thought. After several moments, Jiraiya rose to his feet and said "Well, I've got missions to give out, papers to sign, and a Machevallian plot to set into motion. Keep an eye on Danzou, and inform me if that old warhawk lets anything slip."

"Alright Jiraiya-chan." Koharu replied, slowly rising to her feet with a groan, muttering "Damn Sarutobi. He never did tell me how he managed to avoid the pains of old age, the cruel old monkey!"

Jiraiya laughed and said "Bye Koharu-sama." She gave a small wave, dropped the barrier/genjutsu, and said "Goodbye Jiraiya-chan. See you later."

And with that, the two departed on their seperate ways.


	8. A Shoulder to Cry On

I do not now, nor have I ever owned Naruto.

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Standing outside of Otafaku Gai, Tsunade grinned and said "Welcome to our first stop on this training trip! Now, we need to decide who goes to get new clothes and who gets the hotel rooms for the night."

Shizune thought for a few moments before a grin crossed her face as she said "Well, I think me and you should go get the hotel room, Tsunade-shishou. We can let Tsume take our students to get their new clothes." Looking to her oldest apprentice, Tsunade noticed the look in the girl's eyes and couldn't stop a smile of her own as she quickly caught on.

"Excellent idea Shizune!" Tsunade said, turning to the dark-haired woman and shoved a wad of ryo into her hand as she said "Here you go Tsume! You take this money and get the brats some clothes." She grinned at the look of shock from Tsume, but the blonde-haired Sannin didn't give her a chance to respond before turning her attention on Naruto as she said "And you, Naruto, can get orange, but you'll have to make sure it goes with your new accessory."

"What accessory?" Naruto asked, and both Hinata and Sakura hid their giggling as Tsunade pulled out a sealing scroll and unsealed a green Chuunin vest, which she held out to him.

Staring at in shock, the blonde boy barely heard Tsunade say "Uzumaki Naruto, for performing above and beyond the call of duty on a mission well above your rank, I officially give you a field promotion to the rank of Chuunin. Congratulations, sochi." The gathered women watched as Naruto carefully took the vest from the buxom woman, giving it the reverence normally seen for a holy artifact.

Sliding off his orange jacket and delicately putting the vest on, he closed it and stared down at himself, as if not believing it. Looking up to Tsunade, she smiled and hugged his neck, placing a kiss on his forehead as she said "Believe me when I say that you deserve it."

Straightening up, she smiled and said "Now, come along Shizune! We've got hotel rooms to rent!" The two women quickly left as Tsume merely stood stunned at the newly minted Chuunin before her.

"Congratulations, Naruto!" Sakura said as she quickly unsealed her own vest and slid it on, Hinata giving him a hopeful smile as she did the same. He looked over and stared at them, taking in their vests carefully as realization hit him.

"Yo-you guys made Chu-chuunin too?" Naruto asked, and at their nods, he gave them a bright smile as he said "That's great! Three Chuunin out to take the world by storm!"

Sakura grinned as she thought '_Naruto Dance of Joy in 3... 2... 1..._' And on cue, he began jumping around, pumping his fist in the air, and shaking his butt as he whooped and hollered happily, ignoring the looks he was receiving from the people around them. Hinata blushed, smiling softly as she decided that today was indeed a red-letter day for her. Made Chuunin, escaped her family, and has been able to look at Naruto's butt without having to worry about being caught several times.

Yep, today was definitely a red-letter day for one Hyuuga Hinata.

Tsume finally snapped out of her stunned state, looked from the money in hand to the direction Tsunade and Shizune left, then back to the money. Scowling, she muttered "That sneaky bitch." as she shoved the money into her pocket. Turning to where Naruto was still 'dancing' and being watched by Hinata and Sakura, Tsume grinned, enjoying watching the blonde shake his ass without fear of being caught, much like Hinata was.

After a few moments of enjoying the show being put on by Naruto, Tsume cleared her throat and said "Alright Naruto, while we could enjoy watching you shake that tight little ass of yours all day, unfortunately we have other things to do. Now come on, we've got to get you three more Chuunin-appropriate clothes."

Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura stared at the woman in shock before Naruto muttered "Are all the women in Konoha perverts, or is it just all those I know?" Sakura sent Hinata a look, and barely managed to stop herself from laughing as the former heiress blushed at Naruto's statement.

Tsume stopped and turned to the trio and said "Come on! Are you going to come buy some new clothes, or are you going to stand there staring at _my_ shapely ass all day!?" She laughed as the trio sputtered before falling in line behind her, all three doing their damnest to not look at her, their faces red as tomatoes.

The quartet strolled through the streets, Naruto enjoying the fact noone was purposefully ignoring him nor were they glaring at him, merely treating him as another normal person. Hinata, meanwhile, was enjoying not being looked down upon or compared to the rest of her clan, most of whom that did so considered her to be lacking. Tsume and Sakura, unlike their two companions, was simply walking, one lost in her own thoughts, the other merely enjoying a visit to another village that wasn't slowly dying under the stranglehold of a tyrant.

'_Does Tsunade have a point about not shutting off the chance to love and be loved by the blonde?... I mean, I haven't so thoroughly enjoyed watching a man shake his ass since Kirou died. And if what Anko has been claiming she heard from Shizune is true... Damn, its been far too long._' Tsume thought, watching for a shinobi clothing store, or at least something close to one.

Finally, she held out her arm and her charges stopped, following her gaze to the store that caught her eye. It wasn't large, but niether was it small, indicating it did a decent amount of business. The sign hanging above it read "The Hawk's Nest", and a statue of a messenger hawk stood vigil over the doorway. Nodding to her companions, Tsume walked into the building, followed by Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura.

Looking around at the racks of clothing, shelves of sandals, shoes, gloves, and even blank hitai-ate, Tsume nodded, deciding this place was good. Turning to the three Chuunin, she said "Alright you three, I need you to go pick out some new clothing while I talk to the man at the counter about something for Tsunade-sama. Now hurry up, and try not to be to loud in color, Naruto."

Naruto scowled but nodded, Sakura wrapping an arm around his neck as she said "Don't worry Tsume-sama, me and Hinata will ensure Naruto gets more 'ninja-appropriate' clothing this time. Right, Hinata?" Blushing from face down, Hinata gave a nod, seemingly so enthralled by the sight of her fingers poking one another that she couldn't risk looking up in case she missed a moment of it.

"Good." Tsume said, and Sakura nodded, leading the stunned blonde away, followed by Hinata. The former Inuzuka matriarch gave a chuckle as she watched the poor boy being dragged into what most men considered torture, and almost felt sorry for him. Almost being the key word.

Standing back, the woman chuckled as poor Naruto was assaulted by Sakura and surprisingly Hinata, the two holding up different shirts, jackets, pants, and other clothes in front of him, trying to see how it looked on him before returning back to the clothes rack for more. Those that were accepted went into a growing pile on a nearby stool, those rejected were returned to the racks.

Finally, after several minutes of being used as a dress-up dummy, several sets of clothes were shoved into his arms, and he in turn was shoved into a dressing room with orders to try them on and come out to model them.

Smiling, Sakura said "Well, that takes care of him. Now me and you can get properly dressed too, Hinata." Hinata nodded with a soft smile, the two entered the racks at a more resigned pace than when they'd been 'helping' Naruto, which left Tsume shaking her head as she muttered "Girls."

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Tsunade and Shizune walked through the streets, eyes scanning the buildings surrounding them looking for a good hotel, perferably one with its own onsen. As they walked, Tsunade stretched her back, which thrust her buxom chest out, which resulted in several men passing out from massive nosebleeds, and rolled her shoulders, taking a deep breath, releasing it as a deep sigh.

"Let me tell you, Konoha was slowly beginning to suffocate me, Shizune. After so long being free to go as I pleased, having to stay in one place and be 'respectful' and 'understanding' to a group of hypocritical bastards who crow about the 'Will of Fire' and Konoha's 'superiority' over the other violent, uncivilized villages while being ever bit as violent and uncivilized... It was growing a tumor in my stomach, I know it." Tsunade said, her eldest apprentice looking to her.

"To be honest, I enjoyed knowing where I would sleep each night and not having to worry about being woken at midnight by you, half drunk and breasts hanging free so we could get a head start on the debt collectors." Shizune replied, and Tsunade grinned as she said "Yeah, that was nice for a while. But it couldn't stop the suffocating feeling I was forced to endure. Not to mention the paperwork and having to deal with the scheming, backstabbing, and doublecrossing of the 'council' in a neverending battle to get and retain any scrap of influence or power for themselves and their families. Jiraiya always liked that cloak and dagger political shit, not me."

Shizune nodded, having grown to hate that too, as well as the terrible funk it always placed her mentor and closest thing to a mother she ever had. She knew of only two three people that could bring the buxom woman out of the arms of a depressive spiral as they took her close like an old lover before she could build the barrier of indifference around herself again. They were herself, Jiraiya, and the reason for their exodus: Uzumaki Naruto.

"Damn! I forgot to put it on earlier!" Tsunade muttered, and Shizune looked to her sensei curiously, wondering what she meant. She knew the elder woman was already wearing panties, and there wasn't a bra in the world able to contain her massive busom. Anything else was quite easy to see.

But before Shizune could ask, Tsunade had taken out a scroll, opened it, and with a quick nip of her thumb, dragged a swath of blood across a storage seal. In a burst of smoke, an all-to-familiar, conical hat appeared atop it.

"Tsunade-shishou! You didn't!" Shizune gasped, staring at the hat of the Hokage as it sat atop the scroll it had been placed in. She watched as her mentor casually took hold of it and placed it on top of her head, giving the dark-haired woman a grin.

"The sun was really beginning to bother me, Shizune." Tsunade said, her grin growing, but the woman merely stared at the hat resting atop her master's head, muttering "Tsunade-shishou..."

"What? You didn't care when we cleared out the Hokage's library, took the Forbidden Scroll, or snatched sensei's Saru contract. But the fact that I took a silly hat has got you shocked beyond belief. You really need to learn to prioritize things better, Shizune." Tsunade said, and the dark-haired woman blinked several times before a soft giggle escaped her throat.

"And what's so funny?" Tsunade asked, and fighting down her giggling, Shizune answered "I-it's just that you to-told me to pri-prioritize better." Tsunade blinked, then realized what the younger woman meant. During their travels, Shizune was the logical, sensible one. The one who had to prioritize what was important for each day, because Tsunade was too emotional and illogical to perform the task.

For Tsunade to tell Shizune to prioritize better...

The pigtailed blonde joined her student in a good laugh, shoulders shaking as the hat protected her head, and got people on the streets to stare. Wondering why exactly the Hokage of Konoha had deigned them worthy of a visit, no doubt, and a little worried about what it meant for them.

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Tsume watched as Naruto turned in front of a mirror, studying his new clothes. He was dressed in a pair of tiger-orange khakis that hung to his knees, black running with the stitching, including the back and side pockets. He now had his vest on over a black t-shirt, a short-sleeved hooded orange jacket hanging over it, the stopping above the elbows. His pants were held up by a leather belt with several pouches hanging from it, the buckle resembling a fox's head, a pair of fingerless black gloves with metal guards on the backs, and his feet adorned by a pair of black sandals.

"Nice choice, Naruto." Tsume saidd, arms crossed over her chest as she took in the exposed forearms and calves of the blonde, who grinned and said "Yeah, I like it too. Hinata and Sakura said that its better than my old jumpsuit, and it isn't as cumbersome either... Whatever that means."

"Speaking of which, where are those two?" Tsume asked, and Naruto jabbed a thumb toward the dressing rooms and said "While you were staring at me, they went in there to change together. I don't know why, but apparently they need help doing so."

Tsume nodded as she said "I meant it when I said I liked them, Naruto. Really accentuates your cute ass."

"It does WHAT to my butt?" Naruto asked, turning mortified blue eyes on the woman, who grinned and said "Don't blow a blood veseel, Naruto. All that means is that they show off your butt. And if you want to get you a girlfriend, the first step is to accentuate your positives, like those eyes of yours. Girls go giddy over such expressive and open eyes, makes a guy look deep and empathic, like good boyfriend material."

"Really?" Naruto asked, curious, and continued "What else will help me get a girlfriend?"

Grinning, Tsume took a seat on a bench and patted the spot next to her as she said "Take a seat, and I'll see if I can't help you become a real lady killer."

"Bu-but... I don't wanna kill them. I wanna date them, hold their hands, maybe even kiss them." Naruto stated, and giving a sigh, she said "It's a term, Naruto. All it means is that the girls will like you a lot."

Blinking, the blonde gave a megawatt grin as he took the previously offered seat and asked "So, how do I get a girlfriend?"

Sliding an arm around the boy's neck, Tsume said "Alright. Tsume's Lady Killer Class is now in session, my young pupil. Listen well, and I promise you will get a girlfriend." The blonde nodded, paying more attention to her than he ever managed in class. Because unlike Iruka's lessons about the history of Konoha and the previous Hokages, this infomation was actually useful!

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As soon as they entered the dressing room together, Sakura had instantly realized her mistake. Gulping, she found herself fighting a blush as she kept her back to Hinata, instead putting her full attention on changing her clothes as she vehemently assured her sexuality to herself, and heard how lame she sounded. The problem was exasperated by the lewd, pornographic images filling her mind courtesy of the bane of her existance known as Inner Sakura, who was going between moaning and crying in pleasure in her own voice and mimicing Hinata's doing the same.

The pinkette had half a mind to just scream out loud for Inner Sakura to shut the fuck up, but realized that would be a bad idea with Hinata inches away.

"Sakura-chan, ma-may I ask y-you a per-personal question?" came the soft voice of Hinata as Sakura was stepping out of her pants, and Sakura gritted her teeth as Inner Sakura took the opening and ran with it, telling a story that belonged in one of Jiraiya's Icha Icha books, not in a teen kunoichi's mind.

Gulping, Sakura replied "Of course, Hinata."

The pinkette could feel the eyes on her naked back as Hinata asked "Is some-something wrong? Yo-you seem tense."

"No, not at all!" Sakura said, giving a nervous smile despite the fact she staring at the wall before her. Hinata frowned as she realized that Sakura seemed practically obsessive about not looking at her without heavy clothing, and frowned eyes turned down. She should have guessed that her inadequate form would make the pinkette uncomfortable. It did the same for her clan, .

Hinata turned away, muttering "O-oh... I s-see. I-I understand. I-I'll just go."

Sakura frowned as she asked "Why?"

"Be-because I'm obviously ma-making you very un-uncomfortable." Hinata replied, and Sakura's eyes widened as she realized how the emotionally fragile girl had taken her avoidance to look at her. Spinning, she gave a wide smile as she said "You aren't making me uncomfortable at all!" As she did so, her traitorous eyes started taking in the sleek, soft frame of Hinata, now unobstructed by her thick jacket and pants. She quickly found herself torn between sloppily drooling and being bitterly jealous of the lilac-eyed girl's form, which was something even women in their twenties would kill to have.

The fact that the only thing keeping Sakura from enjoying every inch of Hinata's body was a pair of orange panties and an orange bra, matching Naruto's old jumpsuit in color, made it harder to look away. Tapping her fingers together, Hinata looked to her clothes, still looking like she wanted to get dressed and run in spite of Sakura's denial of being uncomfortable.

Sakura gently patted Hinata on the shoulder and said "Hinata..." Sakura found her mouth suddenly dry, and not wanting to speak the words that she knew needed to be said, lest this happened again. But unlike with Sasuke, her normal confidence and self-assured nature was gone, which was causing her to begin questioning the reason behind that.

Shaking it off, she swallowed and said "Hinata... the truth is... is... is that I'm confused." Lilac eyes suddenly turned on the Haruno teen, confusion shining in them as she asked "A-about what?"

Pushing aside some of the clothes to clear off a seat on the bench, Sakura sat and hid her face in her hands as she muttered "Fo-for years I've had what I thought was love for Sasuke, forsaking everything else for him, including my own feelings at times. But after the incident a few days ago, I was forced to do a lot of soul searching, and feelings I didn't know were there surfaced."

Joining Sakura on the bench, Hinata sighed as she had an idea, but asked "What ki-kind of feelings?"

"We-well, first there's my blonde baka of a teammate Naruto. I was forced to really look at how I treated him, and how I treated him in return. I realized that while I was a complete pill to him, he has been nothing but kind to me, including being willing to destroy his own happiness for mine. God, I was such a shallow bitch." Sakura said, and Hinata frowned at hearing how she treated the nicest guy in Konoha (in Hinata's opinion, at least), but her dissapointmwnr began to disappate as she realized Sakura had seen the error of her ways.

"Then the-there's y... you." Sakura said, and Hinata's eyes widened as she waited for Sakura to continue, nervous of where this was heading. Sighing, Sakura hugged herself as she said "I-I've been having... thoughts. Traitorous thoughts about you and... and me... together." The last word was so soft that Hinata had to strain to hear it. As she did so, lilac eyes widened in shock at hearing those words.

"Re-really..." Hinata asked, and Sakura nodded, continuing "I-I don't know what to make of them. For-for so long I've loved Sasuke, that I ne-never thought about actually being... being... being... gay. I can't be gay, I just know it! But when I thi-think about you or Ino, I-I get a feeling in my stomach only Sa-Sasuke has ever gi-given me."

Fighing back a sob, Sakura whimpered "I-I even ki-kissed Ino! An-and I actually li-liked it! What's wrong with me? Why can't I be normal?!"

Hinata saw how this was agonizing her friend, and Hinata's caring, nuturing side took over as she wrapped her arms around Sakura and pulled her close. Sakura tensed momentarily at being against the Hyuuga's nearly nude form, but as slender fingers began stroking a head of pink hair, green eyes flooded with tears as she wrapped her arms around Hinata and buried her face in the girl's shoulder, tears flowing freely.

Shushing her and rocking softly, Hinata whispered gently "Sakura-chan, there's nothing wrong with you. You are normal, I promise."

"N-no I'm no-not! I-I like gi-girls! How i-is that normal!?" Sakura cried, and Hinata blushed as she answered "Because..." and allowed it to end at that, embarrassed to continue. Sakura blinked, sniffling as she asked "Be-because why?" A dry, humorless chuckle escaped her throat as she continued "It better not be 'Because I said so."

"N-no." Hinata said, and Sakura asked "Then why?"

Sighing gently, Hinata replied "Be-because wh-when I was a li-little girl, my mo-mom was pre-pregnant with Hanabi, bu-but she was sick. One day sh-she asked me t-to sit with her on th-the bed with her. Sh-she hugged me cl-close and to-told me tha-that she lo-loved me, an-and she had something im-important to tell me. Sitting me in her lap, sh-she gave me a we-weary smile and sa-said that I-I shouldn't marry fo-for clan pol-politics, bu-but for love. To not ma-make the sa-same mistake as he-her."

Sakura sat in silence, enthralled by the story as Hinata continued "Sh-she told me tha-that she ca-cared for t-tou-sama, bu-but didn't love him. Sh-she said the-there was another person she loved, bu-but could never b-be with."

"W-who?" Sakura asked gently, eyes looked with Hinata's watching the swell of emotions within the lilac-colored depths. Hinata smiled and said "She said he-her name was Mi-Mikoto, Sa-Sasuke's mo-mom. She ex-explained how they'd been close as genin, and how th-they grew to lo-love one another as time passed. Bu-but unfortunately, cla-clan politics go-got in the way, and fo-forced them to be a-apart, to ma-marry men they di-didn't love to make the el-elder's happy."

"I-I was confused at fi-first, and asked i-if it was OK for gi-girls to love ea-each other like boys and girls di-did in my storybooks. She la-laughed softly and sa-said that of course it was, th-that there wa-was nothing wrong with boys lo-loving boys or girls lo-loving girls. She then kissed m-my forehead and to-told me that no matter wh-what, I should always lo-love who I wanted, a-and not listen to those farts o-on the Elders Co-council. I giggled and to-told her she was silly, and she smi-smiled, tickled me, and said that I was her little ra-ray of sunshine."

Gulping, Hinata wiped the tears from her cheeks and continued "Sh-she died a sh-short time later wh-while gi-giving birth to Ha-Hanabi... Mi-Mikoto-sama was at t-the funeral, and sh-she cried li-like a woman w-who lost a lo-love and not a fr-friend cried. I didn't kn-know at the time, bu-but as ti-time went on, I figured it out, and to-took mom's words to he-heart."

Smiling sadly, Hinata looked to Sakura and asked "And my mo-mom i-isn't a liar, i-is she?"

Sakura smiled back and shook her head as she said "No, I don't think she is." The two sat in comfortable silence before Sakura said "Th-thank you, Hinata. For caring, a-and for telling m-me that story."

"You're welcome." Hinata replied, and Sakura grinned and said "We better hurry up and get dressed. Wouldn't want those two perverts on the other side of the door getting any ideas, would we?"

"Sakura-chan!" Hinata gasped in astonishment, but the pinkette merely stuck her tongue out and said "You know its true, Hinata."

"St-still..." Hinata murmured, even as the two began getting dressed, a heavy weight beginning to drop from both their shoulders.

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When the two exited the dressing room in their original clothes with a few sets of clothes they liked in their arms, they quickly realized that not only were both Naruto and Tsume staring at them, but the dark-haired girl sitting at the front counter was watching too, red eyes shining with curiosity.

"Errr... Mind telling us just what the Hell was going on in there?" Tsume asked, and both girl's blushed as Sakura answered "Just having a heart-to-heart."

"Just having a heart-to-heart?" Tsume asked, an eyebrow raised and a mischevious smirk on her face, to which Sakura waved her hands before her as she said "We were NOT doing that!"

"I believe ya. You and Hinata aren't perverts like Erosennin." Naruto said with a confident grin, and Hinata smiled softly, her blush darkening at the praise recieved from the praise.

"Well then, why don't you and Hinata go out later, just the two of you." Tsume suggested with a wink, to which the blonde blushed and said "I doubt Hinata would want to go out with just me!" Giving a self-depricating grin, he continued "I mean, who would? I'm just the orange-clad knuckleheaded baka, and noone wants that in a boyfriend."

'I do.' Hinata and Tsume thought at the same time, but Hinata spoke aloud, saying "I-I would b-be honored to g-go out wi-with you."

"Really?" Naruto asked, and at the girl's nod, Naruto's self-depricating grin became a beaming megawatt smile as he said "OK!"

"Say Hinata, why don't you and Naruto go get some clothes for a nice dinner together?" Tsume suggested, and watched as the smiling blonde and blushing girl disappeared into the clothing racks. Turning back to Sakura, Tsume motioned to the bench and said "Now you will sit down and tell me what you and Hinata were talking about."

"Do I have to?" Sakura asked, and Tsume said "Sakura, I want you to trust me when I say that you can confide in me. No matter what's bothering you, I assure you that you can come to me and I'll do whatever I have in my power to help you."

Sakura nodded with a sigh, took a seat, and began telling the Inuzuka matriarch what she'd told Hinata.


	9. Moves and Counter Moves

I do not now, nor have I ever owned Naruto.

A/N: To the DragonBard, Hinata thinks that her figure is inferior, and that Sakura is uncomfortable and refusing to look from the wall because of that. Sorry I didn't make that more clear in the chapter.

To Nosferatum, personally, I don't think Tsume is OOC in my fic. Mostly because we've barely seen her more than Uzumaki Kushina, and have no idea of her personality. Well, except she is proud and boastful, much like Kiba. I'm trying my best to make her a more rounded, three-dimensional character. How well it works out remains to be seen.

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Tsume sighed as she watched Hinata and Naruto sit nearby with their bags from the store, having a small conversation. Though blushing seriously, the former heiress was slowly becoming more comfortable with talking to the blonde. It was actually quite adorable, though she couldn't stop the twinge of jealously in her chest at the sight. The twinge was attacked and ferociously stomped down, aided by the knowledge that she set it up in the first place.

To stop the jealously from simmering, she quickly turned her mind to another problem. That being Haruno Sakura and her confusing and conflicting emotions. Tsume knew she said she'd help the girl any way she could, but unfortunately there was very little she could do but be a comforting, supportive figure and hope for the best. And as an Inuzuka, she despised being in such a passive role in any situation, especially one where someone she cared for was hurting and it meant she couldn't help them fix it.

Rubbing her temples, she turned to the pink-haired girl sitting nearby, who was being unusually reserved at the moment. Of course, the Inuzuka understood, considering the fact she'd spilt her guts not once, but twice in so short a time, the girl was feeling emotionally drained.

Sighing again, Tsume patted the girl on the shoulder, causing the pinkette to look to her. Tsume did the only thing she could at the moment, and gave the child a comforting smile. Sakura returned it with a weak one of her own, before returning to looking at her hands in deep thought. Of course, thinking about Sakura forced the woman to think about her little 'conversation' with the young cashier in the store.

(Flashback no Jutsu)

_Tsume looked over the clothes resting on the counter in three piles, one for Naruto, one for Sakura, and one for Hinata. The three of them stood nearby, Naruto talking happily to the young Hyuuga, who smiled softly, blushing as she listened. Meanwhile, Sakura just stood nearby, watching the duo with something akin to jealousy on her face as she did so._

_"So... what was with the girls in the dressing room?" asked the red-eyed woman with a grin, and Tsume scowled as she said "I don't believe that's any of your damn business."_

_"Awww, don't get all mad. I'm just curious, that's all." the woman replied with a wider grin, which only deepened Tsume's scowl as she ground out "How about you do your job and quick sticking your nose where it doesn't belong."_

_"Alright alright, sheesh. No reason to bite my head off. I can't help it if they decided that a dressing room in a store was the best place to start airing dirty laundry." the woman muttered, and began ringing up the various articles of clothing as Tsume kept glaring, joined by Naruto and Sakura, even Hinata looked a little annoyed._

_However, at noticing the color of the woman's eyes, Hinata asked "E-excuse me."_

_Looking up at the Hyuuga, the woman asked "Yeah."_

_"A-are you related to Yuuhi Kurenai?" Hinata asked, and the woman gave a broad smile as she said "Oh, so you've heard of my cousin the infamous jounin, huh? Our dads happen to be brothers, though with her busy career as a ninja, we don't see much of each other. Why? You know her?"_

_"S-she was my jounin sensei." Hinata answered, and the woman looked at her for a few moments before realization dawned in her eyes as she said "Oh! You must be the shy Hyuuga girl Kurenai spoke of in her letters!" Turning to the orange-clad blonde, her grin grew as she said "And that must make you Uzumaki Naruto."_

_Naruto nodded with a grin as he said "Yep! That's me, Uzumaki Naruto!" Jabbing his chest with a thumb, he said "I'm gonna be the strongest shinobi ever!"_

_"Well, you best work hard. Cause I've heard some pretty impressive things about the Yondaime and Sandaime, so if a scrawny runt like you wants to beat them, you're gonna have to make up a lot of ground!" The cashier said, and laughed as Naruto gave an indignant squawk and glared at her._

_"Also, I'd suggest you not let Hinata go. She's gonna make a man a great wife some day, and if you want to be the best, you gotta have a wife to match." the woman said, and Naruto blinked, looking to Hinata as he asked "Hinata? my wife?"_

_Looking at her, Naruto grinned and said "Sure, why not?" He failed to notice the midnight-haired girl's face darken, and was the only one to do so, if the three knowing grins was any indication._

_"How much." Tsume asked, looking to the cashier, who said "It'll come to..."_

(Flashback no Jutsu: KAI!)

"So, I take it you managed to get the brat out of those neon, 'kill-me-now' colored clothes?"

The four looked to find Tsunade and Shizune walking up, Tonton snuggled in the dark-haired woman's arms. But all eyes were not on the comfortable pig, nor the woman holding it at all. They were on the hat resting atop her master's head.

"Tsunade-sama!" Sakura gasped, green eyes wide, and the blonde asked "What?"

"You stole the Hokage's hat?" Tsume asked, and at the blonde's nod, burst into a fit of laughter, one she was joined in by Naruto. The two barely managed to remain sitting as Hinata asked "W-why?"

"Because I like it, and it does a good job of keeping the sun off of me. Besides, if I hadn't, the brat would never have stopped bitching about how hard he worked to get me to put it on." Tsunade answered, and Hinata blinked, not believing the woman, but yet not willing to argue the point.

"Now come along you four, I'll show you to the hotel." Tsunade said, and wiping the tears from her eyes, Tsume said "Whi-while we're doing so, w-we can lo-look for a ni-nice restaurant."

"What for?" Tsunade asked, and Sakura beamed, some of her emotional fatigue gone as she said "Hinata and Naruto've got a date tonight!"

"Really?" Shizune asked, looking to the two, who both nodded, Naruto giving a grin as Hinata blushed. Shizune smiled and said "That's great!"

"Well, you need to thank Tsume-chan then. She's the one who suggested we do it. I still don't understand why a girl as nice as Hinata would want to go on a date with me." Naruto said, scratching the back of his head. Tsunade raised her eyebrows, turning to Tsume, confusion in her eyes as she asked "She did, did she?"

"What? If I waited for those two to do it, then we'd never get anywhere." Tsume said with a grin, but Tsunade frowned as she saw that the smile was strained.

"So that means we need to hurry so these two can get ready!" Shizune said with a grin, and she began leading them toward the hotel. As the the group followed, she didn't notice the silent 'we're talking later' look Tsume was getting from her master.

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Danzou sat at his desk, staring intently at a copy of Tsunade's decrees as the sun slowly moved toward the horizon through the window behind him. The council had managed to use it to keep the last Uchiha in the shinobi forces before Jiraiya could be 'found' and take his place as Hokage. The fact that the weakling Hyuuga and the worthless civilian girl both joined him in exile was deemed unimportant, as was Tsume's self-imposed exile. All that meant was that they had to deal with the feral woman's young daughter, who was apparently being 'advised' by the former clan head's familiar, a talking dog wearing an eyepatch by the name of Kuromaru.

But the fact that she took the Hokage's library, including the Forbidden scroll, as well as released 'facts' many on the Council wished to remain hidden, was more troubling. So much knowledge and power, gone from the village, in the hands of six people. People who could potentially give that information to another village should they so desire.

And worse was the fact that Uzumaki Naruto was in actuality Namikaze Naruto, only son of the Yondaime Hokage Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina, last leader of the small village Uzugakure no Sato. Before it could be stopped, someone amongst the Council had managed to get the corresponding marriage license and birth certificate into circulation with the villagers. Word was spreading quickly that the Council had banished the son of their most beloved figure.

It was without a doubt a true political shitstorm, and many of the civilian members were in denial, not wanting to believe that the 'hated Uzumaki' was the only son of the man they saw as a God. However, the shinobi populace was in an uproar, people demanding that many of the councillors be removed from their positions. He in particular was taking a great deal of damage, being one of the biggest supporters of the motion, and he already felt his formerly iron grip upon power slipping. If it was lost, then he would most likely be executed due to his past actions.

Looking up from the paperwork, he turned his lone eye to the other occupant in the room, who sat regally before him, cold pale lavender eyes on the leader of Ni. If he allowed himself the luxury of having 'friends' and 'confidants', Danzou was certain that Hyuuga Hiashi would be one of his closest friends. But niether man saw the need for such things, and their relationship was purely business in nature.

Sighing, Danzou said "It appears Tsunade has caused us quite a few problems, and all for what should have been a weapon. But that soft-hearted Sarutobi refused to allow me to do so, and what should have been a massive asset is now becoming an unacceptable liability."

"I have the same problems concerning my eldest 'daughter', Hinata. Had she been branded, it would not be a problem, in fact I would consider it a gain. But because she isn't, should Kumo or another village capture or kill her, they could get quite a lot of information concerning our Byakugan."

Danzou nodded as he replied "It would seem that we both have a child at the base of our problems, Hiashi."

Hiashi sighed as he said "I would be indebted to you if you can help me get rid of my problem."

Danzou grew silent as he began thinking. What needed was a way to retrieve the 'Hokage's library', easily one of the greatest sources of power in the elemental nations, as well as getting rid of that fool Jiraiya, and either getting himself or a puppet put in the man's place, so he could easily bury the truth of Naruto's parents forever. Closing his eye, he drummed his fingers in a rhythmic fashion, trying to find one thing that could serve both purposes.

Then his eye snapped open, and a grin crossed his face as he realized what that was: Uzumaki Naruto.

All he had to do was have the brat killed, and then Tsunade would fall into another pit of despair. She'd obviously return the Hokage's library so as not to deal with any trace of Konoha, and then she'd disappear once more into obscurity, hopefully drinking herself to death. Jiraiya, who'd grown close to his student's son since meeting him, would disappear into his work again, like he did when the boy's father Minato died, vacating the Hokage's seat.

This would leave it open for him to take, either personally or through proxy, as well as having the Hokage's library at his fingertips to use as he saw fit. The fact that a potential superweapon in Naruto had to die to complete the plan was an unfortunate, but ultimately necessary loss in exchange for greater power.

With the plan made, the man spoke a single word: "Come."

Hiashi watched silently as in an instant, three figures were kneeling before Danzou, two women and a man. Each was dressed in standard ANBU attire, their hair cropped short, and a mask covering their face. The first woman wore a hawk mask, the second a hyena mask, while the lone man wore a lion mask. Each had a ninjato strapped horizontally to their waist, the handle on the right side.

"Danzou-sama." the first woman, who had deep red hair, spoke, and the one-eyed warhawk studied the trio before he commanded "I need the three of you to locate and exterminate Uzumaki Naruto. It is imperative that you are not seen by his 'handlers' Tsunade of the Sannin, her apprentice Shizune, or Inuzuka Tsume."

Hiashi spoke up and said "I want Hyuuga Hinata to be executed if possible. She has been a stain on the Hyuuga clan far too long, and this will ensure she shames niether me or the clan any further."

Danzou nodded in agreement and said "Your targets are Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Hinata, understand. The pink-haired civilian girl, however, is of no consequence. Kill her only if you must."

"Hai, Danzou-sama!" the three said, and just as quickly as they appeared, they vanished, leaving a smiling Danzou staring at where they once knelt. Soon, everything would be falling into place.

"I must go, Danzou. I have a funeral to prepare and 'grieving' to begin, as well as ensuring Hanabi becomes my heir." Hiashi said, rising from his chair with a bow and smirk before exiting the office, leaving Danzou alone.

As the warhawk sat, he never noticed the small bug that crawled along the wall, exiting the window and taking off into the air.

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Hatake Kakashi sighed as he stared at the heroes' monument, his sensei's name in particular. The information he'd learned earlier today was indeed troubling for the man, namely the fact that his former student, the one he'd sacrificed so Sasuke could take his rightful place as a true shinobi of Konoha, was in fact the son of a man he thought of as a father.

That the malnourished, emotionally abused, lonely orphan that seemed to make the perfect footstool for his beloved student was in fact the only heir of Namikaze Minato had been causing him much trouble since he first learned of it from Gai.

This new information had caused the delicately-crafted fantasy he'd created and cultivated for so many years to begin breaking and falling apart, the damage far more severe than what Sasuke's taunts had done in the hospital. And unfortunately, the damage was much tougher to fix this time, as there was no way for him to simply suck up and appease his sensei into allowing him to keep his delusions comforting him.

Namely because the man was dead, and also due to the little fact that it was **his** son that had been used and mistreated by the Jounin.

But Kakashi hadn't spent years in his beloved fantasy world to allow it to be destroyed so easily. And he had more than one way to protect it from destruction, and he was currently using it. When he found that appeasement wouldn't work, denial and 'selective reasoning' was his next line of defense.

Already he had convinced himself that the birth certificate was a forgery by Tsunade and Jiraiya in an attempt to get Naruto the family he didn't have in a misguided attempt to get him home. Because sensei's son was killed along with Kushina during the Kyuubi attack. Sarutobi had made that quite clear afterwards, and Kakashi knew that Sarutobi would never make such an outrageous lie to them.

Which was another strike against Naruto being Minato's son. Sarutobi had denied that fact to him and everyone who asked the question, saying in no uncertain terms that Naruto was an orphan. So, if Sarutobi, one of the strongest, most beloved Hokages stated that Naruto wasn't Minato's son, then the blonde wasn't Minato's son.

Besides which, Naruto was a dobe, destined to be nothing more than another no-talent shinobi like Iruka, and it was in Konoha's best interest for Naruto to be used to make Sasuke stronger, a more effective shinobi. And that way, Naruto could at least claim to have been the legendary Sasuke's teammate, so Kakashi was doing the boy a favor by ensuring that Sasuke was a great shinobi, even if it seemed to cost Naruto in the long run.

Looking up at the sky, Kakashi grinned under his mask. It was time to meet up with Sasuke and start training him.

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Jiraiya sighed as he looked to the man standing before the Hokage's desk, arms held at his sides, sunglasses hiding his eyes, much like his red trenchcoat hid the rest of him. Steepling his hands before him, the Rokudaime Hokage looked over the man standing before him as he asked "Are you certain that Danzou and Hiashi have decided to have Naruto and Hinata assassinated by Ni operatives?"

Nodding, Shibi said "Hai, Hokage-sama. One of my kikaichuu hidden within Danzou's office brought this to me, and they would not deliver false or inaccurate information."

"I know." Jiraiya said, letting out a deep rumbling sigh as he continued "I thank you for doing so."

"Hyuuga Hinata is a friend of my son Shino, to say nothing of the fact that this is not only treasonous, but disturbing behaviour. In light of those facts, I could do no less than let you know of their actions." Shibi said, and Jiraiya smiled as he said "I'm glad to know that some of the council remember exactly who is in control of Konoha, Shibi."

"Of course, Hokage-sama." Shibi said with a nod.

"I just wish I could use that information to string both of them up by their toes and take a rusty cheese grater to'em. But unfortunately, your testimony alone isn't enough to have the head of the Hyuuga clan or Danzou." Jiraiya said, and Shibi replied "I understand Hokage-sama. The villagers aren't very accepting of my clan and our symbiotic relationship with the kikaichuu."

"That too." Jiraiya muttered, requiring all his self control to not find Danzou or Hiashi and practicing his Rasengan on them until they were so much ground beef to be fed to the Inuzuka hounds.

"What will you do, Hokage-sama?" Shibi asked, and Jiraiya gave the man a smirk that caused a chill to run down his spine as the white-haired sannin said "I'm afraid I can't tell you that. Nothing personal, its just best if as few people know exactly what I'm doing as possible."

"Of course, Hokage-sama. I will take my leave now and allow you to get back to work." the Aburame head said with a bow, turning and exiting the office as quickly as he could without running. Jiraiya couldn't stop his chuckle at the way he had managed to unnerve Shibi... well, as much as you could actually unnerve an Aburame, anyways.

Sitting back in his chair, he quickly came up with a plan, and smiled. Sometimes the best plans could be the simplest, and this plan was indeed simple. And the necessary pieces were already in the room.

"Alright you two, you can show yourselves." Jiraiya said, and a pair of ANBU appeared before his desk and knelt, heads down.

"At ease." Jiraiya stated, and the duo rose to their feet, hands held behind their backs, the first asking "What do you need of us, Hokage-sama?"

"Well, I already know you heard my meeting with Shibi, correct?" Jiraiya asked, and the duo nodded once. Smiling, Jiraiya said "In that case, I have a mission for the both of you."

"Which is?" the second asked, and Jiraiya said "Cat, Wolf, you are to locate the three members of Ni sent after the sannin Tsunade and her group and eliminate them. Then you are to locate said team and join them to aide in protecting the son of Namikaze Minato and the former heiress Hyuuga Hinata. During your time as bodyguards, you are allowed to remove your masks for their ease as well as yours. Is there any part of your mission you do not understand?"

"No, Hokage-sama." 'Wolf' stated, and Jiraiya said "Very good. Do your job well enough, and when the time comes, you two will be the ones to execute Danzou." Even though he couldn't see their faces, he could feel the happiness radiating off the duo at the chance to do that.

"Hai, Hokage-sama." 'Cat' said, and with a smirk Jiraiya said "Dismissed. Remember that time is of the essence."

Both nodded and disappeared as Jiraiya turned in his seat to look out the picture window over Konoha. He almost felt bad about how easy that was. Simply offer them the chance to execute the man who ordered their sensei dead, and they would walk barefoot through Hell for it.

Sighing, he wondered just how things would turn out, and if the two would even get the chance to get rid of the old warhawk before it was over.

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Naruto exited the bathroom of a three-person bathroom suite dressed in a black shirt with sleeves that reached his elbows, a black version of his chuunin vest over it, a pair of black slacks with a snake-skin belt, and black shoes, gritting his teeth as he resisted the urge to scratch at his hair. It was slicked down with a tube of hairgel, and even then it was struggling to be free, trying to break the shell that currently held it down.

"Oh don't be such a baby, Naruto. It makes you look nice!" Sakura said from within the bathroom with a sigh, and Naruto blinked, turning to the pinkette as he asked "Yo-you think?"

"Yeah. Besides, I worked damn hard to make your hair get that neat, so don't do anything to ruin it!" Sakura said with a glare, causing the blonde to smile weakly as he said "I wouldn't dream of it."

Fussing with his vest, Sakura said "Now remember, when you're with her, you need to eat politely, speak with your indoor voice, and don't get too rambunctious with your movements while talking."

"I know, I know." Naruto said, rolling his eyes as Sakura glared at him and said "I want you to remember that Hinata deserves to be treated with kindness and respect on this date, and you need to be on your best behaviour. If you pull any of your normal nonsense, it'll not only make you look bad, it'll make her look bad."

"Really?" Naruto asked, and Sakura nodded as she said "Yes. I understand that you've been alone for most of your life and only had to worry about your own reputation, but when you're out with someone, your behavior reflects on them too. And you don't want Hinata to have a bad reputation because of you, now do you?"

Naruto's eyes widened, head shaking rapidly as he said "No! Hinata seems a little wierd, but she's always been nice to me!"

"And if she's always been nice to you, then she isn't expecting too much for wanting you to show her a good time, am I right?" This time Naruto shook his head negative, and the pinkette could see the resolve to ensure Hinata receives her good time forming in his azure eyes.

Sakura grinned, patting the blonde on the head, careful not to muss his hair as she said "Good boy." The blonde silently sent a scowl that looked more like a pout at her, but remained silent, arms crossed over his chest.

"Oh don't be like that, Naruto. I'm only teasing you." Sakura said, and Naruto relaxed, grinning as he asked "Do I look good, Sakura-chan?"

"Yes you do. And don't you dare mess yourself up, cause I worked HARD to make you look so good." Sakura said, and the blonde sent her one of his bright smiles as he said "I wouldn't dream of it, Sakura-chan.", causing her to smile too. Her mood had already on the rise since coming to the hotel, and helping Naruto get ready brought her spirits up to about normal.

"Now, you do remember how to greet Hinata, right?" Sakura asked, and Naruto nodded, not quite sure why this dating stuff had to be so difficult. It was simply friends going out for dinner, right?

"Good. Now come on, we can't keep her waiting." Sakura said, and placing her hands on his shoulders, guiding him to the other suite they were renting. Standing before the door, a wave of nervousness flooded the blonde as he slowly reached up and knocked on the door.

Guling, he watched as it opened and found his mind bereft of any other thought once his eyes landed on Hinata. Her hair was pulled back into a small bun on the back of her head, a pearl necklace around her neck, and she was either blushing softly or she was wearing some makeup to make her look like it. Her hands were held before her, and a strapless black dress draped over her form, accentuating her figure without detracting from it, a pair of high-heeled sandals on her feet.

"Hinata, you... you... you... you..." Naruto stuttered, and Sakura gave a soft jab to his back, allowing him to finish "Look beautiful!"

"Re-really?" Hinata asked, and Naruto nodded as he said "Yeah! You're gorgeous!" Hinata's blush darkened softly as Naruto offered an arm to her. Smiling gently, she took it and stood by his side, trying her hardest not to faint. Smiling sheepishly, Naruto began walking with Hinata, the Hyuuga having to make sure she placed one foot securely before the other, lest she trip over them.

Watching the two leave, Shizune sighed as she asked "They sure make a cute couple, don't they?"

Smiling softly, Tsunade wiped her eyes dry and said "Yeah... Reminds me of my time with Dan. The good memories, letting me remember why I loved the goof."

Tsume smiled sadly and said "I remember my first date with Kirou. Big idiot managed to trip over his own feet while we were walking to the restaurant. But he managed to make the mistake look so adorable, and was so cute when he got up embarrassed. Don't know how, but he managed to not only get me to fall in love with him, but also go through pregnancy twice."

Tsunade nodded before chuckling as she stated "Listen to us. Reminiscing like a couple old women in the nursing home."

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm certainly not ready for the nursing home." Tsume said, getting a glare from the former Hokage, who then smirked, which made the Inuzuka matriarch very, very nervous.


	10. Attacks and Revelations

I do not now, nor have I ever owned Naruto.

A/N: first, to dbtiger63: Sakura isn't 'bullying' Naruto into doing anything. She's merely doing what is necessary to help Naruto at least make the date enjoyable for Hinata. Because you need to remember Naruto can be simple about things, and the finer points of dating and more intimate, personal interactions are amongst those things. As for her 'handling' of Naruto, its been shown as one of the best ways to get him to understand. And (as far as I know), Sakura is not being a know-it-all or a bully. She's merely doing what's been shown to work when getting Naruto to understand something, and she's helping Naruto in a topic she's spent much time thinking on and reading about (dating). If she appears to be a bully, I must apologize, that wasn't my intention.

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Naruto and Hinata walked down the brightly lit street arm-in-arm, both blushing lightly as they strolled in silence, niether at all comfortable with their current situation. As they walked, Naruto looked to the sky and smiled as he said "The moon's full, Hinata-chan!"

Turning pale lavender eyes to the glowing orb in the sky, Hinata smiled as she said "I-it's beautiful, Na-Naruto-kun."

"Yeah..." Naruto said, then, remembering something he'd seen in a movie once, added "But you're prettier."

At the sudden compliment, the former Hyuuga heiress' cheeks darkened, and she had to fight to not faint as she asked "Re-really?"

"Of course!" Naruto said with a beaming smile that, in Hinata's opinion, put the celestial body in the sky above to shame with its brightness. Hinata smiled softly back and moved closer to the blonde, holding his arm a little tighter.

As the young couple walked, both felt the hairs on the back of their necks bristle, a sign that someone was watching them. But, not wanting to ruin the moment, neither spoke of it, chalking it up to Sakura, Tsume, Shizune, or Tsunade watching them.

'Probably taking pointers from me.' Naruto thought with a sense of pride.

However, niether knew that they were targetted for assassination by order of Danzou and Hiashi.

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Hyena stood in the shadows of a rooftop, her hand on her mask, a thin bamboo blowgun with metal lining the inside in her hand. Watching the pair walking down the street, she pushed her masked up and brought the blowgun to her lips as she took a deep breath, aiming for Naruto's neck. However, before she could blow, her eyes widened, the deep breath released in a silent gasp as she dropped the blowgun, which rolled harmlessly away.

A gloved hand placed itself over her mouth, pulling her head back to allow a thin blade to cut deep into her neck. Allowing the corpse to drop, the cat-masked woman casually wiped the blood from her blade on the dead woman's shirt before returning it to its holster. With that done, she proceeded to take out a scroll and sealed the corpse into the scroll.

Pocketing the scroll into a hidden compartment, she performed a single handseal and disappeared in a burst of white smoke.

One down, two to go.

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Lion watched the pair continue their walk and entered a small restaurant, a frown hidden beneath his mask. The two hadn't so much as flinched during their walk, meaning that Hawk had either failed to hit her targets, or she didn't fair at all. He knew that Hawk was too good a shot to miss unaware targets strolling down the street, so that meant she hadn't fired, but why not?

His answer came as he barely dodged a hooked sword that was aimed to remove his head. Turning, he drew his ninjato and stared into the intricately-decorated mask of a wolf holding the sword that had tried to take his head, its brother in the assailant's other hand.

"What are you doing?" Lion asked, and Wolf replied "I should be asking you that question. On whose authority is it that you're trying to murder chuunin Uzumaki Naruto?"

"Danzou-sama ordered me to execute Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Hinata." Lion replied, and Wolf raised an eyebrow behind his mask as he said "Danzou? That crippled, one-eyed son of a bitch is not now, never has been, and never will be the Hokage, whom is the only person a shinobi of Konoha should take orders from."

"Danzou-sama is a great man! What he does is for the good of Konoha!" Lion growled, and Wolf's eyes narrowed as he snarled "For the good of... What a load of bullshit! His actions are for the good of Danzou and Danzou alone! That man doesn't give a shit about Konoha or you!"

"Don't disrespect Danzou-sama like that!" Lion roared, charging Wolf. As soon as they met, the two were locked in combat, attacking, blocking, dodging. A carefully sharpened blade passing within a hair's width of slicing into flesh as hooks ghosted over skin, hoping to find purchase. As the blades moved, sandal-covered feet were in motion as well, kicking or countering kicks, not a single movement wasted as the other looked to end the other.

If one were to see the two fighting, they would swear it was a carefully coreographed ballet and not a fierce battle to the death, such was their skill. Their training so intensive, so complete, that even the slightest twitch of a muscle was carefully deciphered in moments, allowing each to avoid multiple strikes that would surely kill a lesser opponent.

But despite this training, they were human still, with tears in their clothes and thin cuts upon their bodies telling of exactly how close they came to ending the other. And finally, after several minutes of silent battle, they took several steps back from each other, resting in a defensive stance as they panted for breath.

"Give up this madness and return home! They don't deserve to die, and you know it!" Wolf pleaded, and Lion's eyes darkened within his mask as he growled "I know that Danzou-sama wishes for them to die, and that's all that matters!"

"I see... Well, then I pray you can forgive me for what I'm about to the do." Wolf murmured, dropping his swords as he began flashing through handseals. Lion's eyes widened as he charged Wolf, ninjato at the ready to end the other man before he could finish his seals.

But he was a moment too slow, because Wolf ended on the snake seal, calling out "Doton: Tsuchi no Shokushu!" Lion growled as tendrils of earth and stone rose from the ground, reaching and grabbing for him, his ninjato slashing through the attacking earthen arms. Looking toward Wolf, he growled and leapt, aiming to pierce the other ANBU's heart and end the jutsu.

Only inches from his target, his eyes widened, blood flowing from beneath his mask, dripping to the ground as his arms went slack, ninjato clattering to the ground beneath him. His body went limp, supported only by the earthen tentacle piercing his chest, allowing Wolf a sigh of relief.

Picking up the fallen ninjato, the living ANBU operative raised it above his head and brought it down, the sharp blade easily cutting through bone and muscle, the masked head of Lion thudding onto the ground. Dropping the bloody ninjato onto the ground, Wolf performed a single handseal, and watched as the tendrils returned to the earth, dragging their headless prize with them deep into its crust, hiding the evidence there ever was a second man there save for his blade and head.

Quickly sealing both into a scroll, Wolf sighed and performed another handseal, disappearing in a burst of smoke.

Two down, one to go.

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Naruto sat across from Hinata at the small table, staring at the menu opened before him as if studying it, unable to look at her without blushing, something mirrored by the former heiress of the Hyuuga clan.

Finally, Naruto looked at her with a bright smile as he said "You do look pretty, Hinata-chan." Hinata blushed, smiling softly as she said "Yo-you've said th-that se-several times already."

"But its true!" Naruto nearly yelled, and Hinata ducked her head, her smile growing wider as her blush grew darker, softly murmuring "Do-don't be s-so loud, Na-Naruto-kun."

"Sorry." Naruto said with a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of his head as he did so. A soft clearing of the throat caused the two to look up to see a woman with short red hair standing beside their table in black pants and a white shirt. She seemed perfectly normal, but something about the fact that her eyes were emotionless and her smile too fake to be real made Naruto nervous, causing his own smile to appear uneasy.

"Hello. What can I get our young couple today?" the woman asked, and both blushed as Naruto replied "I'd like some Curry Rice and Yakiniku with Mugicha to drink." Turning to Hinata, the woman asked "And for the young lady?"

"A-ano, I'd like so-some Tendon and ve-vegetable Teriyaki with Ku-Kukicha to drink." Hinata said, and the woman smiled as she wrote down the orders and said "Now you two relax while your order is being prepared."

As the woman walked away, Naruto looked to Hinata and asked "Wh-why don't you tell me about yourself?"

"O-Ok..." Hinata replied, and began telling Naruto about her teammates, sensei, and missions they completed. Despite how uninteresting she felt it was, she had Naruto's undivided attention as she talked, and the pale-eyed girl enjoyed the attention from her longtime crush.

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The red-haired woman entered the kitchen and walked to one of the older chefs, handing the orders to the man with her unsettling smile. The man, uneased by the smile, took it and began working, not daring to look at the woman, thinking to himself '_Damn creepy woman. Where'd they even find her?_' As she stood there waiting, she reached into her pocket and began fiddling with something, her smile never wavering.

He walked away to gather some ingredients, and as his back was turned, she pulled a small vial containing a muddy brown-colored liquid. Popping the topper, she moved toward the cooking food, but stopped as she heard a male voice call out "Hey! The boss wants to talk to you!"

She stoppered the vial and returned it to her pocket and walked away, heading to the boss' office as the man walked over to the cooking food. Ensuring the chef wasn't watching, he used a pair of chopsticks to grab some of the noodles, popping them into his mouth.

After a few moments, he nodded and swallowed, returning upright as the chef turned back. Blinking, he looked to the young man as he asked "Hey, who are you?"

"Temp." the man replied with a smile. The chef nodded, glad for the woman to be gone, and equally glad that, despite the fact he had a thick scar ran from the corner of his left eye to his ear, with a second running diagonally from his chin, across his mouth, and to the left side of his nose, the scars effectively marring his face, he seemed more.. human than the woman.

"Alright boy... Could you not stand so close to the food? Health reasons, you understand." the chef said, and the dark-haired man nodded, smiling sheepishly as he replied "Right, sorry..."

"I hope you don't find this rude, but that woman, she gives me the creeps. Something not right about her." the chef said with a shudder, and the younger man nodded as he said "Yeah, I know what'cha mean. Eyes look dead and smile is fake." with a shudder of his own.

'_What's that monster done to you?_' the young man asked, sadness in his eyes as he looked the way the red-haired woman left.

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"No way! You actually defeated some Iwa nuke-nin on a mission?!" Naruto asked, eyes wide in shock as he stared at the Hyuuga heiress across from him in awe and admiration. The girl blushed, unused to having someone looking at her with such raw emotions in their eyes.

"Hai... Bu-but didn't y-you an-and your team de-defeat a former Sw-Swordsman of the Mist?" Hinata asked, and laughing softly, he said "Well, I didn't do that much. It was mostly Kakashi-sensei who did all the work." Hinata forced herself not to scowl at hearing the name of Kakashi, realizing that Naruto didn't know what the silver-haired Jounin had said concerning not only Naruto, but his apparent 'kaa-san' as well. And she didn't have the heart to tell him, knowing how much it'd hurt him to learn of it.

"So Hinata-chan, why'd you agree to come out with me anyways?" Naruto asked, and Hinata blushed as she replied "W-why? B-because your ki-kind, caring, a-and ge-generous. Anyone wo-would be ho-honored to go o-out with you."

"Really?" Naruto asked, and when the pale-eyed girl nodded shyly, the boy felt his eyes begin to water, a smile on his face. If the girl wasn't high on his nakama list before, she'd just jumped to number 2, right beneath his kaa-san Tsunade.

"Well now, isn't this sweet?" a new voice asked, and the two turned to the dark-haired man dressed in the restaurant's uniform, carrying a platter with two cups of tea, which were placed before their respective customer.

"Where's the red-haired lady?" Naruto asked, and the man merely smiled as he said "Oh, she had to go to a meeting with our boss, so I'll be your server from now on. My name is Miyamoto Schichigoro, and its a pleasure to be serving both of you."

"Oh... OK." Naruto said, mirroring the smile with one of his own. He felt rather glad that the red-haired lady wasn't serving them anymore, because something about her just made him uncomfortable, like she wasn't really human, just a puppet acting out the motions. Something fortunately the green-eyed man serving them didn't share.

"Well, enjoy your drinks, and I'll be back with your food in a little bit." the man said with a bow and walked away, leaving the teens alone once again.

Turning back to Hinata, Naruto smiled sheepishly and asked "So Hinata-chan, did you really mean what you said?"

Blinking, the girl blushed and said "O-of course, Na-Naruto-kun. I-I wo-wouldn't l-lie t-to you." She was awarded with another brilliant Naruto smile before he took a sip from his cup of tea, a motion mirrored by the midnight-haired girl across from him.

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The red-haired woman stood before the door, one hand behind her back clutching the handle of a kunai tucked into her waistband, prepared in case of an attack. Fake smile in place, she opened the door and swung it open, revealing the manager's office, in particular the oak desk with high-backed chair behind it, the chair facing the window.

"You wanted to see me?" the woman asked, and an unfamiliar voice replied "Yes, as a matter of fact I did. I've been wondering what happened to you, and now I know. And I have another reason to slit the bastard Danzou's throat."

The red-haired woman replied "Do not disrespect Danzou-sama like that, he is a great man looking out for the good of Konoha."

"Bullshit. He took you away from your newborn son, and did only God knows what to make you into... into this! That was not for the good of Konoha!" the voice replied and the chair turned to reveal Cat sitting there, her mask held in her hands, revealing the unmarred face and dark eyes of its wearer framed by short purple hair.

"I don't have a son,." the red-haired woman replied as she drew the hidden kunai and held it at the ready, to which Cat sighed as she said "Please don't make me do this! I don't want to have to hurt you... please don't force me to do so... Please."

The woman replied by performing a spin and throwing her kunai at Cat, which forced the purple-haired ANBU to turn, allowing it to fly past her face and smash through the window behind. Turning back to her attacker, she leapt forward into a roll as the woman landed on the desk, an unsealed ninjato slicing cleanly through the back of the chair.

Rising, Cat unsheathed her own ninjato as she watch the woman carefully, awaiting the redhead's next attack. Sadness filled her eyes as they locked with the dead ones of the woman, who suddenly leapt backwards off the desk flashing through one-handed seals, releasing a breath at the end of the seals.

Cat dodged, a hole being blasted into the wall behind where her head was moments ago by a compacted blast of air, and replied by throwing several senbon at the Ni operative, who blocked them with her ninjato, charging Cat with a slash of her sword. Cat brought her own blade up and blocked the slash aimed to split her head in two, spinning away and attacking with a slash of her own, which she dodged by moving back.

Facing her again, Cat scowled and began blocking as the redhead began a flurry of strikes aiming to quickly kill her purple-haired opponent. The elder of the two women suddenly moved forward with a straight punch, which Cat deflected with a backhand, and paid for it by recieving the tip of the ninjato piercing her thigh. Hissing in pain, she stumbled back from the redhead, who moved in to press her advantage, her sword flashing through the air in a blur.

Pushing back the pain, Cat began blocking the strikes, trying not to stumble each time she was forced to place pressure on her injured leg. Avoiding another downward stroke from the redhead, Cat fell to one knee as her injured leg gave out on her, watching as Kushina began flashing through handseals, taking a deep breath and releasing it as a gout of flame.

Cat leapt to the side and rolled to a crouch, barely avoiding being roasted by the flames as she pulled another set of senbon dripping with a clear liquid and throwing them at the redhaired woman, who easily dodged the throw before charging Cat again. As she closed in, she was forced to stop her charge as three shuriken flew at her, forcing her to block.

Lifting her head, she saw that it was the man who'd asked her to come back her, his hands in a seal. Before she could move, she found herself frozen, caught in a genjutsu, one which would last a few moments at best. But before she could break it and continue the attack, Cat drew a hypodermic needle filled with a clear liquid and leapt toward her, driving the needle deep into her bicep, pushing the plunger down and emptying its contents into her system.

Blinking as the pain broke the genjutsu, and the redhead blinked as the world became bleary and unfocused, spinning as she stumbled and collapsed, caught by Cat, who proceeded to lift her into her arms bridal style.

"What was in that needle Yugao?" Schichigoro asked, and Yugao replied "A powerful knock-out drug, it'll keep her out for a few hours. You stay her and keep an eye on Naruto and Hinata while I take her and meet up with Tsunade-sama and the rest of her team."

"Alright... Good luck Yugao-senpai." Schichigoro said with a nod, and Yugao exited the broken window and took off into the night as Schichigoro went to a nearby closet. Opening it, he removed a middle-aged, balding man and placed him into his chair, allowing him to lay across the desk. Quickly using a simple jutsu to fix the window and chair, he placed a half-consumed bottle of alcohol on the desk nearby.

Nodding, he exited the office, leaving the man to wake up soon with a headache, blaming both it and his 'nap' on the alcohol.

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Tsunade looked to Tsume as the pair sat in their hotel room, both Sakura and Shizune already sleeping in the other one. Sighing, she said "Alright Tsume, time for us to have a talk."

"I don't want to." Tsume said, not looking to the blonde, who leaned back and said "Well, I don't care. We're going to have a talk whether you want to or not. It needs to be done, and chances are we're not going to have such a chance in weeks to come."

"Can't you just drop it?" Tsume asked, and Tsunade said "Honestly? I probably could... But I don't really want to."

"Why?" Tsume questioned, and Tsunade replied "Because I see someone whose hurting, and has been for a very long time... Honestly, I see a mirror of my younger self. Maybe... maybe if someone had done this for me when I was younger, I'd not spent so many years slowly killing my body with alcohol and gambling myself into a debt worth several million dollars."

"Well I'll have you know that I'm nothing like that!" Tsume replied with a scowl, and Tsunade gave a mirthless laugh as she said "Don't try and lie to me, I know the signs! You're one small step away from falling into depression! You're kids are the only thing keeping you from doing so, and they're quickly losing their need of you! And that'll probably become the catalyst for your depression!"

"Shut up! That's not true!" Tsume snarled, and Tsunade replied "Of course it is! You've never truly gotten over your husband's death, and until you do, you're going to always be on the edge of depression!"

"And you think Naruto can 'help' me?" Tsume asked skeptically, to which the blonde nodded as she said "I really do. He helped me, and I'd burrowed myself so deeply into depression, nothing short of a miracle would save me... And it just so happens that miracle is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed shinobi named Naruto."

"Well, my problem is different! I'm in love with a 13 year old boy!" Tsume snapped, and Tsunade answered "No you're not. You're in love with a strong young man, and you're scared. You're scared to let go of Kirou, scared that if you truly allow yourself to love Naruto, that you'll forget him or dishonor what the two of you shared."

Tsume's anger disappeared, eyes widening as she asked "What... how...?" This caused Tsunade to smirk as she said "Easy. I know because this is another thing I experienced firsthand. There are several men who I believed I could love, but refused to because I didn't want to dishonor Dan's memory."

"Let me guess, one of them's Jiraiya-sama, correct?" Tsume asked jokingly, only to stare in shock as she watched the blonde former Hokage blush slightly

"No way..." Tsume muttered, and Tsunade sighed as she said "That perverted baka can be really charming and caring when he wants to be... When he allows himself to be who he truly is."

"So the pervert isn't Jiraiya?" Tsume asked, and Tsunade answered "Well, it a little, but honestly he exaggerates it immensely. He is really an intelligent, caring person, he just hides himself behind that mask, scared to let people in."

"Sounds familiar." Tsume muttered, and Tsunade chuckled as she said "Honestly? Most of the older and more 'powerful' shinobi do hide themselves behind vices or a mask, one made due to paranoia and fear crafted from years of life or death battles and deceptions. In fact, the only people who don't do so are the current Raikage and his 'little brother', a jounin named Kirabii... Of course, both of them are a little 'off' mentally."

"But we're getting off-track Tsume." Tsunade said, and Tsume cursed softly, getting a chuckle from the buxom blonde as she said "I wasn't made Hokage because of my good looks."

There conversation was interrupted by Yugao appearing in the middle of the room, her captive still in her arms. As she appeared, both women leapt into a fighting stance, at least until they recognized her as ANBU, Tsume staring in shock at the form in her arms.

"What are you doing here?" Tsunade asked suspiciously, and Yugao answered "I and my partner are here on a mission for the Hokage, Tsunade-sama. We are here to protect Hyuuga Hinata and Uzumaki Naruto from an assassination plot by Hyuuga Hiashi and Danzou, and will remain with you to help protect both from any future attempts."

"I see." Tsunade said, turning as Tsume suddenly darted to Yugao, her attention on the red-haired woman in the ANBU's arms. Holding the woman's head, Tsume turned it so she could fully see her face. Though older and more battle-worn than before, she still easily recognized the person.

"What is it?" Tsunade asked, and Tsume replied, sounding as if she'd seen a ghost, "It's Kushina! I thought... I thought she was dead!"


	11. Tip of the Iceburg

I do not now, nor have I ever owned Naruto.

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"Kushina?" Tsunade asked, vaguely remembering the name, and Tsume nodded as she clarified "Uzumaki Kushina."

"U-Uzumaki, as in..." Tsunade muttered, disbelief in her eyes, and Tsume gave another nod as she said "Yeah, she's Naruto's mother. I remember her being so ecstactic when she found out she was pregnant... Bu-but I thought she'd died during the Kyuubi attack! Everyone did!"

"Even ANBU believed her to be dead, until me and Shichigoro found her in the restaurant your charges are having their date in, trying to poison their food." Yuugao replied, and Tsunade's eyes hardened as she asked "So she tried to murder her own son by order of Danzou?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that." Yuugao answered, and Tsunade questioned "How so?"

"Well, I tried reasoning with her, but she had no idea who I was, nor that she even had a son. All she knew was obeying Danzou, like her entire life before the Kyuubi attack didn't exist." Yuugao replied, and Tsunade took another look at the redhead in the ANBU operatives arms before motioning to the bed, ordering in a crisp, concise tone "Place her on the bed and strip her, remove any weapons you find. Tsume, you help."

"What are you going to do?" Tsume asked, and Tsunade replied "I'm going to perform a thorough exam on her. See exactly what that one-eyed monster's done to her."

Nodding, Tsume followed Yuugao to the bed, where they proceeded to strip the unconscious redhead with a practiced ease. However, as they finished removing her clothes, they gasped in shock, causing Tsunade to step forward and look herself.

Seeing what they did, her eyes widened in shock and she whispered "My God..."

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Naruto ate quietly and slowly, a stark contrast to his normal 'shovel-it-all-in' manner of dining. Hinata, having seen him use this particular manner of dining firsthand on a few occasions, found the change in his ettiquete nice. She knew that Sakura probably coached him on it, but to see him take those lessons to heart, and for her, filled her with a sense of warmth.

Naruto looked up and smiled as he asked "Am I really that interesting to watch eating?"

"N-no, it's ju-just that... well... I-I've never se-seen you e-eat so-so formally before." Hinata answered, and Naruto's smile grew as he said "Yeah. Sakura kept going on and on about it, so I decided it must be important... And I wouldn't want your reputation to become bad because of me eating 'wrong'... however I do that."

"Re-really?" Hinata asked, and the blonde nodded as he said "Yeah! A nice girl like you doesn't deserve to have her reputation ruined cause of me."

"Th-thank you, th-that's really con-considerate of you." Hinata replied, her cheeks darkening at him being so thoughtful of her, and the fact he called her nice. Returning to her meal, Naruto smiled and did the same, the two eating in a companionable silence.

As they ate, Shichigoro walked up to the table and smiled, looking between the two as he asked "How is everything? Do you need anything?"

Hinata shook her head softly, Naruto watching her before turning to the man and saying "No, we're both good. Thanks for asking."

"Not a problem, I'm here to serve. I'll be back in a bit to see if you need anything." Shichigoro said with a bow, turning and walking away. Naruto smiled and said "I like him, he's nice." Hinata nodded in agreement, replying "Yo-you're nice too."

"Really? Thanks." Naruto said with a bright smile, Hinata mirroring it with a soft one of her own, her cheeks finding themselves darkening again.

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Tsunade sighed as she covered Kushina's unconscious form with a blanket, rubbing her forehead. Looking to the notepad that held a front and rear view sketch of Kushina drawn by Yugao, she counted the various healed injuries her 'patient' had recieved from Danzou and his root.

"multiple scars on her back, chest, stomach, and thighs, many of them having clear indications of being caused by whipping. There's also evidence that several of her ribs, both wrists, and right ankle have been broken and mended, though the wrists and ankle were suffered during intense sparring, a trademark of Danzou's. The ribs, however, seem to indicate that she was beaten while restrained, possibly as a way to break her mentally." Tsunade muttered more to herself than to Tsume and Yugao.

"But what's really disturbing are the seals I found on her tongue, the small of her back, and the base of her neck, as well as on her stomach. I don't know their functions, but I'm certain I can get Jiraiya here to check them out. I'll also need to send for Inoichi to see exactly how bad the mental scarring is." Tsunade continued, flipping to the next page, which was covered in notes, and scribbled a few more before returning to the page holding the sketches.

Setting the notebook aside, Tsunade rubbed her forehead again, snarling as veins seemed to bulge from her forehead.

"What's the matter Tsunade?" Tsume asked, and the sannin replied "I'm finding more and more reasons to hate sensei by the day. Todays reason is that he didn't have that son of a bitch Danzou dragged into the center of Konoha and slowly executed before the villagers and used as an example of what happens when you try even HALF the shit sensei allowed him to get away with!"

"Maybe... maybe Sarutobi-sama didn't know." Yugao suggested, and Tsunade turned brown eyes on Yugao as she growled "Oh, he knew, alright! He may not have known everything that bastard was doing, but he knew enough to have the man executed! Sensei was getting too soft in his old age, allowing Orochimaru escape after finding that bastard in his perverse den, filled with 'experiments' and people being tortured! But he allowed the bastard to life, which even now allows him to haunt and torment us!"

"Tsunade, calm down. All we can do now is give this information to Jiraiya and hope that he does what Sarutobi-sama didn't, use it to execute that one-eyed prick." Tsume said, Tsunade taking and releasing a deep breath as she fought down the urge to learn Orochimaru's twisted ressurrection jutsu, use it to bring back Sarutobi, and then kill him again.

Taking a seat, Tsunade leaned back, eyes closed as she said "THIS is why I left Konoha in the first place! I got sick of all this bullshit, and just wanted to live the rest of my life drinking and gambling, leaving a sake-soaked corpse and a trillion-dollar debt for Konoha to pay off when I died. But one little blonde brat named Uzumaki Naruto screwed up my life and pulled me back into the fold..."

Smiling ruefully, she continued "And you know what the worst part is?"

"No, tell us." Yugao prompted, and Tsunade stated "The worst part is that if I could, I would go back in time and return to Konoha fst sooner, just so that very same blonde brat wouldn't have to grow up all alone like he did... Which is just another mark against sensei."

"So, what do we with Kushina?" Tsume asked, and Tsunade answered "We simply keep her drugged and comfortable until Jiraiya and Inoichi come and see exactly what Danzou's done to her."

"Should I return to Konoha and tell him?" Yugao asked, but the former Hokage shook her head as she said "No. We wait until Naruto gets back and have him send a toad to that old pervert."

"You're going to TELL him about her?" Tsume asked, stunned, but the woman merely gave the former Inuzuka head a smile as she said "Of course not. That boy doesn't need to know about Kushina yet. I'll merely tell him I require a messenger toad to deliver a message to Jiraiya about how 'awesome' he's becoming, and Naruto won't be able to summon one fast enough."

"And what are we going to do when we have to tell him?" Tsume continued, and Tsunade sighed as she said "That won't be easy... Best we can do is tell him as gently as we possibly can and pray for the best."

"Maybe we should plan more." Yugao said, and Tsunade laughed as she said "With Naruto, all plans should be considered guidelines. Anything more specific, and you'll quickly find out that all you're doing is making yourself an easier target for Murphy's law."

"Well... At least being around him isn't boring." Tsume said, and Tsunade burst into laughter as she said "That's too true."

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Naruto leaned back in his chair, setting his chopsticks down and patting his stomach contently. Hinata smiled as she watched his head tilt back, eyes closed.

"Man, that was good, wasn't it Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked, opening a single eye and looking to his dark-haired dinner partner, who nodded in agreement as she murmured "It was very delicious."

"Well, chef-san will be most pleased you both enjoyed it so much." Shichigoro said with a bow, hiding the cheque behind his back as he rose. Looking over the two, he smiled and said "And don't worry about the cheque, it'll be on us."

"What? Really?" Naruto asked, and the waiter nodded as he said "Of course. You both are very lucky, we normally don't do this, but you managed to come at a very good time. You both won a free dinner, courtesy of us."

Hinata frowned and said "I-I didn't h-hear about a-a contest." to which the man said "Of course not! That way, we can surprise you when you win and get a picture of your reaction." Before the two could react, he'd brought up a camera and snapped a quick picture. The two blinked in surprise, rubbing at their eyes. When their vision cleared, they saw the waiter was gone.

Shrugging, Naruto said "I guess we should get going."

Hinata was feeling suspicious, but nodded and said "H-hai." Standing along with Naruto the two quickly exited the restaurant.

Standing on the ceiling near the bathroom, Shichigoro sighed as he quickly stripped the suit off and allowed it to fall to the floor, revealing a black spandex catsuit. Retrieving his wolf mask from a seal on his forearm, he placed it on and dropped to the floor. Gathering up the now useless suit and tucked it away into a garbage can. Looking at the check, he groaned in exasperation before kneeling down and retrieving a wallet strapped to his leg near his ankle.

Opening it, he counted out the needed ryo and placed it in the cheque book, snapping it shut.

'I'm sooo putting this on my expense report.' Shichigoro thought. Exiting the building, the matre'de would be shocked to find a cheque book with the money in it laying on the podium, despite never seeing the customers.

Confusion would only grow when the uniform of a waiter was found in a trashcan near the bathrooms.

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Walking toward his hotel room arm in arm with Hinata, Naruto laughed as he asked "Di-did Kiba re-really do that?" Giggling into her hand, the former Hyuuga heiress nodded in agreement.

"Well well well, looks like someone had a good time." Tsunade said with a smirk, leaning against the wall outside the door.

"Yeah!" Naruto said, then looked to his date and asked nervously "You did have fun, right Hinata-chan?" The dark-haired Hyuuga nodded, smiling softly and blushing lightly as she did so. Naruto grinned to her and said "I'm glad."

"Well Naruto, I need you to summon a messanger toad." Tsunade said, and the blonde blinked and asked "Why?"

"Because I've got some reports to send to Jiraiya, and the slugs aren't fast." Tsunade said, Naruto nodding as he hesitantly removed his arm from Hinata's. Nipping at his thumb, he knelt to the floor and began flashing through hand seals and pressing it against the floor. In a burst of smoke, a small orange and dark red toad appeared, dressed in a blue vest.

"Hey Naruto-niisan!" Gamakichi said, lifting a front foot in a wave before he saw Hinata and said "Nice lookin' girl, niisan! You hit the jackpot!"

"Gamakichi! Don't talk to Hinata-chan like that! She deserves to be talked to with respect!" Naruto growled, and the small frog frowned and said "Sorry Naruto-niisan! All I was trying to say is that she's pretty!" Hinata blushed at the praise from the toad, and how quickly the blonde jumped to her defense.

"Alright you too, enough squabbling. I have work for you Gamakichi-san." Tsunade said, the small toad turning to look at Tsunade, blinking his yellow eyes before he said "Ar-are you talking to me, magic boob monster?"

Naruto and Hinata looked to one another before backing up quickly as Tsunade's slim hand suddenly shot down and grabbed the toad. Hard.

Lifting him to her face, she snarled "You best be glad I have a job for you, or else I'd squash you here and now." Gulping, the small toad nodded as he said "A-anything you want... ma'am."

Tsunade smirked as she said "Good toad." Holding out an envelope, she said "Alright, Gamakichi-san, I want you to deliver this letter to Jiraiya as quickly as you possibly can. Do the job well, and the next time Naruto summons you I won't spear you with my heel."

The toad nodded and grabbed the envelope, disappearing in a burst of smoke.

Turning her chocolate eyes to Naruto and Hinata, she smirked and said "Alright you two, come with me and tell me all about your little date." Before either could argue, she wrapped an arm around each of their necks, guiding them away from the hotel room holding Kushina, Tsume, and Yugao.

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Appearing in the hotel room, Shichigoro took his mask off and collapsed into a chair, rubbing his forehead with a gloved hand. Yugao watched him and asked "How bad was it?"

"Bad." Shichigoro said, Tsume blinking in surprise as she asked "How many assassins did Danzou send after you?"

"Including Kushina-sama? Three." Shichigoro said, Tsume blinking as she asked "Only three? With two ANBU against Danzou's inferiorly trained ROOT, how is that bad?"

"This isn't about assassins." Yugao said, Tsume tilting her head to the side as she asked "If its not assassins, then what is it?"

"I had to pay for their cheque. That Uzumaki brat is a glutton, and he ate a large hole in the money I carry on me." Shichigoro grumbled, Tsume sighing as she said "Well, it could have been worse."

"How?" Shichigoro asked, and Tsume smirked and said "He could have been out with a female Akamichi." Shichigoro involuntarily shuddered at the thought, muttering "Well, now I know what my wallet's going to be having nightmares about for the next month."

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Jiraiya yawned as he set the last of his paperwork aside, rubbing his temples as he muttered "Now I remember why I turned down being Hokage every time I was asked. The council is made up largely of bitchy little girls, all whining and moaning and making powerplays of some sort or another." He yawned again and rested his head against the cool surface of the desk, eyes closed as he prepared to drift off.

"Yo, Jiraiya-san!"

Jiraiya's head snapped up and stared down at the orange and dark red toad sitting on his desk, his front feet resting on an envelope with his name on it in Tsunade's neat handwriting.

"What does she want?" Jiraiya asked, and Gamakichi shrugged his amphibian shoulders as he said "Don't know man, but boy is that lady scary. She threatened me!... course, I did call her a magic boob monster."

"And you got away with only a threat? Man, you're a lucky one." Jiraiya said, and picked up the letter. Ripping it open, he opened the two notepad pages within. Reading the top page, he quickly flipped to the second, staring at the drawings of Kushina by Yugao, the various wounds and locations of seals on it. Setting them down, he looked to the small toad on his desk and said "Gamakichi, I need you to go to the Yamanaka residence and get Inoichi and his daughter."

"Why?" Gamakichi asked, and Jiraiya answered "Because I'm going to need them to help me see exactly how deep a person's mental scarring is." Nodding the toad leapt off the desk and headed out the window.

Turning dark eyes back to the pages on the desk, Jiraiya stared at them, feeling a sense of rage growing in his chest. Finally, he rose to his feet and smashed his fists onto the table, roaring in rage and fustration. Snorting and snarling, he stared at the pages on his desk, already planning his next courses of action.

First, he was going to go help Tsunade and Inoichi heal Kushina to the best of their respective abilities. Then?

Then he was going to return to Konoha and annihilate Danzou's very essense. Destroy him so completely, even his soul would be ripped asunder and rendered void. Taking a deep, calming breath, he fell into his chair, rubbing his eyes, wondering if he could use Orochimaru's Edo Tensei and ressurrect Sarutobi and murder the man himself.

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Ino, snuggling the small plush fox closer to her chest, burrowed herself deeper into her blankets, dreams of Sakura and Naruto dancing through her head. However, her current dream, this one being her enjoying a Naruto/Sakura sundae with chocolate syrup, whipped cream, and a cherry on top, was interrupted as someone knocked on her door.

"Whaaa... whoozat?" Ino murmured intelligently as the door swung open to reveal her father standing there, in full mission gear.

Blinking the sleep from her eyes, pale blue eyes met pale blue eyes as she asked "What's the matter daddy?"

"Well princess, we've got a mission from the Hokage. Hurry up and get dressed, we're to meet him as quickly as possible." Inoichi said, shutting the door behind him. Getting up from the bed, Ino stared to the small stuffed fox on her bed and asked "What do you think's going on, Chuu?"

Not getting an answer, she sighed and said "Don't know either, huh? Oh well, guess I'll just have to find out when we get there."

She started to get dressed, but stopped as she looked to the stuffed fox with a frown. Reaching out, she turned the fox so it faced the wall and said "No peeking, ero-kitsune."


	12. A Guardian Devil

I do not now, nor have I ever owned Naruto.

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Ino stifled a yawn as she and Inoichi stood before the Hokage's desk, the white-haired sannin looking at the two. Catching sight of Ino's stifled yawn, Jiraiya smirked slightly, folding his hands on the oak desk and said "Sorry for the late meeting, Inoichi, Ino."

"Its alright, Hokage-sama." Inoichi said, Ino nodding in agreement.

Jiraiya's smirk disappeared, replaced by a serious scowl as he said "But I promise you both that the reason for this meeting is very important. With you're help, I believe I will have the evidence necessary to have a traitor within the walls of Konoha imprisoned for the kidnapping, torture, and enslavement of a Konoha nin. And if we can get into his secret documents, we will have the evidence required to execute them."

Both Yamanaka stared at the white-haired man in disbelief. There was another Orochimaru residing within the walls of Konoha for who knows how long, and neither Sarutobi nor Tsunade had done anything about them?!

"Who is it?" Ino asked, but the white-haired man answered "I'm afraid that information can't be divulged at this time. It'll have to wait until we've reached the victim of their crimes. However, I want you both to look over these and give me a rough estimate of the possible damage they could have suffered emotionally." Handing over the two notepad sheets he recieved from Tsunade, Inoichi looked at the written page, eyes flicking over to the drawings to collaborate description to location on the drawings.

After studying them, he passed them over to his daughter, who did the same. Unlike her father, as she read the words and matched them to markings on the drawings, Ino's face paled to a near-white, her hands shaking as she returned them to Jiraiya.

"So, what are your professional opinions on their emotional state?" Jiraiya asked, and, placing a comforting hand on his daughter's shoulder, the elder Yamanaka said "Hokage-sama, to be perfectly honest, I can't begin to guess what her state is emotionally after this level of torture. All we can do is hope for the best and try to fix what we can." Ino nodded in agreement, still looking a bit pale.

"I was afraid of that." Jiraiya muttered, looking to the pair as he said "Go home and get a good night's sleep. We leave in the morning at 0600 hours, and should reach Otafaku Gai in a couple of hours. Once there, we will meet up with the woman's doctor and see exactly what we're working with in regards to the victim. Are my orders misunderstood?"

"No, Hokage-sama." both said in unison, and Jiraiya nodded as he said "Dismissed."

Watching the father-daughter pair exit the office, Jiraiya turned as Gamakichi hopped onto the desk and said "Gamakichi, go to Tsunade and inform her that I, Inoichi, and Ino will be there tomorrow about 0830 hours."

"Alright Jiraiya... Can I get some candy first?" the small toad asked, and reaching into his vest, the toad sannin pulled out a small pouch of candy as he said "Going to see Tsunade so soon after making a remark about her boobs... I'd give you a bottle of sake if you asked."

"No thanks. I need to be sober to keep my feet out of my mouth and the scary lady's heel out of my back." Gamakichi said, taking the small pouch from the white-haired man and vanishing in a burst of white smoke.

Standing from his chair, Jiraiya stretched, listening to his joints pop as he muttered "Kushina-chan, I'm going to do everything in my power to heal you, I swear it."

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Ino, slipping on her pajama shirt, crawled back into bed and pulled the fox plush against her chest as she murmured "It was horrible Chuu. I can't imagine anyone suffering that kind of torture and remaining sane... Then there's those seals, who knows what they're doing to her mind."

Looking to the small stuffed fox, Ino nodded and replied "That's what daddy said. We can only hope for the best and fix what we can. But what if we can't help her? What if she beyond repair?"

"To be honest, I'm scared of what we might find in the woman's mind."

Ino smiled and patted the stuffed fox on the head as she said "Of course you can come, Chuu. I have a feeling that I'm going to need your support for what I'm going to face with daddy tomorrow."

Her smile then turned into a frown as she growled "No, I will not tell you about my dreams! They're none of your business!"

Her frown turned into a scowl as she all but snarled "Well, I don't care what I mumble in my sleep, I'm not telling you a damn thing, ero-kitsune! Now I need to go to sleep and I suggest you do the same."

Her eyes widened in horror as she gasped "No! I will NOT do such a thing! And if you ever mention that again, you're sleeping outside!"

Arms crossed over her chest, she continued glaring at the toy fox as she growled "You'll tell Naruto? Tell him! He'll understand why I did it when I explain what exactly you asked me to do, you pervert! And we both know that he doesn't suffer perverts gladly."

Nodding in vindication, she said "That's better, Chuu. Now good night." With that, she hugged the fox to her chest and quickly slipped off to sleep, her dreams plague by the notes and pictures from her briefing with the Hokage.

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Naruto rested his chin on the table before him, hands resting on his head as he groaned. Tsunade smirking at the poor blonde and bright red Hyuuga sitting next to him. This was proving to be too much fun for the slug princess, pushing all the right buttons to slowly but surely embarrass the both of them to death. And by the looks of it, all she needed was to prod Hinata a little more to effectively cause her to drop.

"So, what happened after your free dinner?" Tsunade asked, and Naruto opened an eye to glare at the elder blonde as he replied "We walked back to the hotel."

"Did you and your giiiirlfriend hold hands? How about a little kiss?" Tsunade questioned, and Hinata's eyes turned to her fencing fingers as Naruto groaned "Kaa-san! You're doing this on purpose!"

"Of course I am! It's a mother's right to embarrass her sochi as much as possible." Tsunade answered smugly, Naruto glaring silently at her, promising many pranks in retribution.

Before Tsunade could start again, two ANBU appeared next to the table, hands held behind their backs, mask covering their face. Looking at the pair, she recognized them immediately, and listened as Shichigoro said "Hello Tsunade-sama, Naruto-san, Hinata-san. Me and Cat have been sent by Jiraiya-sama to protect you from possible dangers."

Naruto studied the two as he said "I remember you guys! You helped me with the Hokage Monument!"

"That we did, Naruto-san. We felt the need to aide you in your... 'community project' involving the monument. And I must say, it caused quite a stir when it was revealed." Yugao said, and Hinata looked to Shichigoro as she murmured "You sound familiar..."

"Why do you say that?" Shichigoro asked, and removed his mask, revealing his face as he said "I haven't seen Naruto-san since a couple days ago, and you I am afraid to say I've never met personally before today."

Naruto gaped at the man, pointing as he cried "Yo-you were the waiter from the restaurant!"

Keeping a straight face, Shichigoro replied "I am afraid that I've never held the job of waiter. I have been a shinobi since I was 13, became a chuunin at 15, a Jounin at 18, and joined the ANBU corps at 23."

"I saw you tonight at the restaurant! I remember those scars!" Naruto cried, still pointing at Shichigoro, who met Naruto's eyes as he said "I fear you are mistaken, Naruto-san. I wasn't at a restaurant tonight, I was on my way here with my teammate."

Tsunade's shoulders began shaking from holding in her laughter as she watched the blonde slowly go mad, claiming the ANBU operative was really a waiter.

"Hinata-chan! He's the waiter, isn't he?" Naruto asked the Hyuuga, who nodded in agreement, become ever so slightly annoyed with this herself.

Finally, Yugao slid her mask off and jabbed Shichigoro in the ribs with an elbow as she said "Alright Shichigoro, that's enough. We don't want our ward to have an anuerysm over this, do we?"

"Alright, alright." the man said, and smiled to the two newly minted chuunin as he said "I was indeed your 'waiter' tonight. I was there to guard you and protect you from any potential harm that may try to befall you."

"Like what?" Naruto asked, and Tsunade replied "Assassins sent by Danzou, mostly."

"Danzou?" was Naruto's question, and Yugao answered "The one-eyed, one-armed cripple with the walking stick you might see skulking around like a cockroach."

"Oh... him. Sarutobi-jiji was always complaining about him." Naruto said with a scowl, remembering how much frustration the mummy-man caused the Sandaime.

'Should have done more than simply complained.' Tsunade thought bitterly, which was quickly shaken off as Gamakichi appeared in a burst of smoke. Looking around, the toad bowed and said "Jiraiya says he, Inoichi, and Ino will here about 0930 hours tomorrow morning."

"Thank you, Gamakichi. You're excused." Tsunade said, and the small toad wisely disappeared in a burst of smoke as Hinata asked "Why are they coming tomorrow?"

"We found someone whose suffered extreme emotional distress and has several seals on them. We require Jiraiya to see to the seals, and Inoichi and his daughter to see to the extreme emotional distress." Tsunade answered, Hinata gasping as she murmured "That's horrible!"

"You don't know the half of it." Tsunade replied, and the two ANBU took seats at the table as Shichigoro said "Anyways, while we're here, we're going to discuss your training regimen."

"Training?" Naruto asked, eyes widening in excitement, his entire body seeming to shake as the barely-restrained anxiety rapidly filled him. Smirking at his eager response, Yugao said "Ahh, eager already, young Chuunin? Well then, you're going to love what we have in store for you, Hinata, and Sakura then."

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Tsume sighed as she laid on one of the three beds, staring at the ceiling, thinking over what she and Tsunade had been discussing before being interrupted by the surprise ressurection of her friend Kushina.

'Is Tsunade right? Am I really just afraid to allow myself to love Naruto because I don't want to let go of Kirou, that I'm afraid that if I do love Naruto, that I'll dishonor or forget Kirou?' Tsume thought, shaking her head as she countered 'He's a 13 year old boy! I have a SON his age, for crying out loud! How can I possibly think of loving someone more than 20 years my junior?'

However, the more she thought about it, the less insane it seemed to become. He was legally an adult by the laws of not only Konoha, but all the Shinobi villages. And he had been living alone since he was 5, meaning that he had to grow up fast, and wasn't a child. Immature, definitely, but Tsume'd met older men (namely Kakashi) far more immature than the blonde orange-lover.

'But he deserves someone his own age, like Hinata, and not an old maid like me.' Tsume thought bitterly, knowing that the two were probably hitting it off already. 'Its for the best that he and Hinata fall in love and get married, having a bunch of pups. No need for him to bother with an old bitch like me, especially when he has a younger bitch like Hinata in comparison.'

Already deciding she didn't like where this train of thought was going, Tsume's mind wandered to Kushina, feeling an involuntary shudder run up her spine at the thought of what her poor friend had to endure at the hands of Danzou.

'How did Hokage-sama manage to miss a monster like Danzou? Did he really turn a blind eye in regards to that evil old cripple?' Tsume wondered, staring at the ceiling in hopes that it would answer her questions.

"My life was much easier back when my crush on Naruto was nothing more than a dirty little secret never to see the light of day." Tsume decided aloud, closing her eyes and to get some sleep. She had a gut feeling that she was going to need it for tomorrow.

So deep in her thoughts, she didn't notice the slightly open door close completely.

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Tsunade, Yugao, Shichigoro, and Hinata smirked as they watched Naruto hop and jump around like a small child, crying and whooping about how awesome of a ninja he was going to become with training from two ANBU and Tsunade-kaa-san.

"Relax kid, or you're not going to have the energy for training tomorrow." Shichigoro said, and Tsunade chuckled as she answered "Don't worry about Naruto, Shichigoro-san. He's going to have more energy than you'll know what to do with come tomorrow."

"Ahhhh, I see. So, its going to be a contest of Naruto's energy against my training regimen." the man said with a smile, crossing his arms over his chest as he said "Well, I happen to have learned this training regimen from the best of them. In fact, it became the basis of Gai-senpai's 'training' regimen, the one he's using with Rock Lee."

This caught Naruto's attention, causing him to stop and turn to the ANBU operative as he asked "You know Bushy Brows and Super Bushy Brows?"

"Of course. Me, 'Super Bushy Brows', and Shichigoro were on a Genin squad together, after all." Yugao said with a smirk, Naruto staring dumbfounded as he asked "So I'm going to get training like Bushy Brows?"

"Well, similar. Though a lot less 'insane' than that used by Gai-senpai." Yugao replied, and Naruto grinned as he said "Well, either way, the next time I see Sasuke-teme, I'm going to pound him so hard he'll never think about trying to leave Konoha again."

"Why?" Shichigoro asked, and Naruto replied "Because he'll be trying to get me to train him and give him just a little of my pure awesome."

"You might be right there, sochi." Tsunade said with a grin, Hinata giggling as Naruto began doing poses that would put Gai and Lee to shame with the sheer cheesy masculinity they portrayed.

"Alright brat, sit down before you pull something." Yugao said, and Naruto stopped posing and took his seat as he said "Hai, sensei!"

"You know, you never gave Kakashi this level of respect." Shichigoro stated, watching the blonde obediantly take his seat and Naruto sighed as he said "He lost my respect the first day and never quite won it back."

"Well then, the three of us are going to have to work hard to make sure we don't lose your respect then, won't we?" Yugao asked, and Naruto smirked as he said "Kaa-san doesn't have to worry about losing my respect..."

"Awww brat, you're too sweet." Tsunade said, reaching across the table to ruffle his hair affectionately, getting the response of Naruto giving her a pouting glare, which only caused the blonde woman to pinch his cheek as she said "You're so cute when you're angry."

Hinata giggled apologetically as Naruto's pout only grew, which resulted in the former Hokage antagonizing him more, the two ANBU laughing at the scene before them.

"You're only making it worse on yourself by keeping that look on your face." Yugao warned, and Naruto growled at the woman's teasing as best he could while Tsunade was pulling both of his cheeks.

"Sochi, you make me just want to cuddle you!" Tsunade demanded with a glint in her eye, and before Naruto could protest, he was bodily removed from his chair, pulled across the table, and wrapped in Tsunade's deceptively strong arms, his head threatening to disappear into the sannin's chest.

"Hinata-chan, help me!" Naruto cried, face turning red in embarrassment, reaching out to the girl, but before she could move to help her crush, Yugao and Shichigoro placed their hands on her shoulders as they said "It's too late for him, Hinata-san."

"Traitors!" Naruto squawked, and Tsunade merely smirked as she thought '_Call me baa-chan, will you brat?_'

"Aaaaawwww, you're just like a little plush doll, Naruto-sochi!" Tsunade cooed, nuzzling the top of his head with her cheek, the other three watching as his face turned beet red, his struggling more frenzied to get away from the embarrassment.

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Danzou paced his bedroom, a feeling he thought he long since lost coursing through his system like the lava of a seemingly dead volcano, tearing through stone and cooled magma to erupt from the surface. It was slowly but surely eating him away from the inside, rising to the surface with terrifying speed, clutching his heart in a death grip that it wouldn't release.

He was feeling fear.

"The only reason that fool Jiraiya would call in Inoichi and his brat at this time of night would be because he needs information from someone unable to talk. And the only people in Konoha who are unable to talk are my Ni units." Danzou muttered, still pacing, which stopped as a horrifying thought crossed his mind.

'They captured Kushina-chan...' he thought, his sole visible eye widening at the thought of his 'secret weapon' being found by Jiraiya, and it took all his self-control not to run screaming into the night. Danzou knew he was still one of Konoha's strongest ninja, but even he couldn't deny age, which was slowly but surely eroding his skills. As loath as he was to admit it, Danzou also knew that he'd allowed the years of peace to wear away his skills in combat, though his mind was stronger than ever.

And Jiraiya, who travelled the world, constantly maintaining and increasing his combat skills against opponents weak and strong, was most likely his superior as of now. Then there was the fact of the full scope of what he'd done to Kushina to get her under his control, which the Yamanaka could and would uncover with a bit of work, especially after Jiraiya removed the seals placed on the woman.

Turning, he prepared to engage one of his escape plans, but stopped as he saw a man dressed in black robes adorned with red clouds, an orange spiral mask with only a left eyehole. The stranger was currently sitting in the chair the older man kept next to his bookcase for reading, a cup of tean in one hand. Realizing he was noticed, the masked man nodded to the bandaged man, lifting his cup in a greeting.

"Hello, Danzou-san, its a pleasure to meet you." the masked man said, and Danzou tensed as he asked "Who are you?"

"Me? My name's Tobi, and I have an offer that you can't refuse if you wish to remain alive." 'Tobi' said, lifting his mask enough to sip his tea. Danzou, frowning, took a seat on his bed and said "I'm listening."

"Good."


	13. Training Day

I do not now, nor have I ever owned Naruto.

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Naruto slept with his arms sprawled out on the middle bed of his hotel room, his pillow wet with drool and his walrus hat resting awkwardly on his head. In the bed to his right slept Hinata, her posture more reserved, even in sleep, a sign of her Hyuuga heritage. On his left was Tsume, who had somehow managed to turn 180 degrees in the bed, her head pointing at the foot of her bed, her limbs sprawled out as she snored softly.

But her sleep was disturbed by the slightest of noises that caused one eye to snap open, a slitted pupil taking in her surroundings before settling on the intruder. Standing at the foot of Naruto's bed, dressed in a gray t-shirt and shorts, was one of their new ANBU 'bodyguards', a smirk on his scarred face as he caught sight of her watching him. Lifting his left arm, he revealed a small gong hanging from a piece of wood by small chains, and he showed her the mallet in his right.

Smirking, Tsume sat up and got comfortable, watching as Shichigoro readied the gong, reared his arm back, and swung the mallet, slamming it into the gong. The sound was loud and reverberated in the hotel room, its effects immediately known.

Hinata shot upright in bed, eyes already blazing with the Byakugan, the timid girl determined to protect her friends. Naruto, on the other hand, yelped in fear and collapsed off the bed, landing on the floor in a heap, only to leap to his feet, ready to fight.

However, at the sight of their 'assailant', they both relaxed, ignoring Tsume laying on the other bed, caught in a fit of laughter.

"What the Hell?" Naruto asked, glaring at the smirking man, who lowered his gong and said "Time for training kiddies! Get up and get dressed in a comfortable pair of shorts and a loose t-shirt. I want to see you on the hotel steps at 0600 hours, giving you..." He looked at the watch on his right wrist "30 minutes. More than enough time to do so."

At the mention of training, Naruto's bad attitude disappeared, and he was already stripping, his pajama pants and green toad boxers pooled around his ankles by the time he heard Shichigoro say "While I admire the enthusiasm, Naruto-san, I think you should have waited until you were in the bathroom... Well, unless you were wanting to give the ladies a show."

Naruto looked at the smirking man, who had his left arm draped over his eyes, confusion on his face... Until a horrible realization came to him. Blue eyes snapped to the other two beds, where Hinata and Tsume were both turned away, blushing furiously. He then looked down and realized that he had unwittingly exposed himself to both Hinata and Tsume.

He yelped, face darkening to a brilliant crimson, hands over his package as he made to run into the connected bathroom... Only to trip over the clothes still encircling his ankles, sending him sprawling face-first to the ground. But he didn't take notice, instead scrambling and crawling into the bathroom on his hands and knees, the door slamming behind him.

Lowering his arm once he heard the bathroom door slam, Shichigoro laughed and ran a hand through his hair as he said "Well now, that was an interesting sight, wasn't it ladies? I guess I'll leave you alone to get ready for the day."

Slinging the gong over his left shoulder, he walked out of the hotel room, humming to himself. Hinata, wiping the blood from under her nose, looked to see Tsume doing the same, a blush adorning her face the young heiress was all too familiar with. This caused the younger girl to frown softly, and was considering whether or not to ask the elder woman when the bathroom door opened slightly.

"Errr... can someone get my shorts, t-shirt, and... boxers from my bag, please?" the boy sheepishly requested. Hinata watched Tsume get off her bed and quickly gather the requested items from his orange bag, tossing them into the bathroom through the small opening the blonde made.

"Thanks." Naruto said, the door shutting after him.

Walking back to her bed and laying down, Tsume felt eyes on her and glanced over at Hinata, who was staring at her, looking as if she wanted to say something, but unsure if she should. Finally, after several silent moments, a combination of curiosity and irritation finally caused the former Inuzuka head to roll over onto her side and asked "What is it, Hinata?"

Hinata blushed, tapping her fingers together, eyes cutting to the bathroom door before asking softly "Do you love Na-Naruto-kun too, Tsume-san?"

Tsume's eyes grew wide as she shot upright, looking like a trapped animal as she asked in a strained whisper "Ho-how could you say something like that?"

Hinata, noting the woman's reaction, smiled softly as she stated "You were blushing far too much not to care for him deeply... And I saw you wiping blood from your upper lip. You know as well as I that Hyuuga are well-versed in reading the emotions of others... Even if I'm not that good of a Hyuuga to begin with."

Tsume stared at the pale-eyed girl in silence, noting the gentle yet insense look that told the elder of the two that the girl was assured of her belief, and sighed in defeat, having heard of the stubborness the girl had in regards to the blonde as she replied "You're right, Hinata... Damn, am I that easy to read?"

"Kiba's no good at hiding his emotions either." Hinata murmured, and Tsume smiled as she said "I always believed he got that from his father... Guess I was wrong. Now, about Naruto..."

"It's OK, Tsume-san. I won't stand in your way..." Hinata finished, to which Tsume replied "Don't be ridiculous, Hinata. You deserve him much more than me, and besides, I'm too old for the blonde."

Hinata frowned and countered "You'd be much better for him than me, I won't be a good wife for someone as special as him."

"Yeah, and an old bat like me is so much better! If anyone is good for him, it's someone his own age, like you, or maybe Sakura, once she figures herself out." Tsume replied, beginning to feel frustrated with Hinata's special brand of self-deprication that threatened to rival her own, at least when the subject was Naruto.

"But I'm worthless! Naruto doesn't deserve to be saddled with someone as hopeless as me!" Hinata said, her own frustration beginning to get the better of her, and Tsume almost growled as she retorted "Yes you do! If anything, he doesn't deserve to be saddled with a dried up bitch like me, especially compared to you!"

"I love Naruto too much to force him to be with me, especially when he can have you!" Hinata said in what those who knew her would consider a yell for the timid girl.

"Right, and I want to force him to be with a whithered old crone like me when he can have a beautiful young maiden like you!" Tsume replied, barely able to keep from yelling at the thick-headed teen across from her.

But before Hinata could respond, they heard the bathroom door open to reveal Naruto, dressed in a gray t-shirt bearing the words "No Pain? No Problem" tucked into forest green shorts.

"Its open, Hinata-chan!" Naruto said with a grin, tossing his dirty clothes into a laundry hamper. Hinata nodded and gathered her own workout clothes and entered the bathroom, sending a look over Naruto's shoulder at Tsume, causing the elder woman to scowl at the younger.

Naruto blinked and looked to see the bathroom door shut behind Hinata. Sighing, he scratched his head and turned back to Tsume and asked "What am I missing?"

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Taking a sip of her coffee, Tsunade looked to her breakfast partner and asked "So she knows your secret, huh?"

"Yeah."

"So, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to fight for your prize, or are you going to roll over and show her your tender belly?" Tsunade asked, and Tsume lifted her head enough to look at the blonde Sannin as she said "I wish it was that easy. But she seems as determined that she's not worthy for his love as I am."

"What an interesting twist on the classic love triangle." Tsunade said, and Tsume blinked as she asked "What?"

"Two women are both in love with the same man, except that instead of fighting for his love, each believes the other deserves him more, not feeling worthy of such a special man." Tsunade replied, taking another sip of her coffee.

"Yay me." Tsume muttered, returning her head to resting on the table, a groan escaping her.

"Cheer up, Tsume. I say that since niether you nor Hinata believe you're fully worthy of Naruto, you share him. I'm certain that both of you working together can be more than enough for our young Uzumaki." Tsunade said. This caused Tsume to snap her head up, staring at the former Hokage in silent shock for several long moments before asking "What?!"

"You heard me." Tsunade said, and Tsume seemed to think it over several moments before saying "That's actually... Totally insane."

"How so?" Tsunade asked, and Tsume answered "Because you not only expect me to have a relationship with Naruto, but to share him with Hinata, and have him be OK with that!"

"Well, of course he'd be OK with it!" Tsunade replied with a smirk, to which Tsume asked "How do you know?"

"If there's one thing Naruto is, its unconventional. And such an unconventional relationship seems to fit him just perfectly." Tsunade stated, to which Tsume merely shook her head and said "There's no way to get you to possibly reconsider such an idea, is there."

"Nope. I can be as stubborn as Naruto when I really want to." Tsunade said, arms crossed under her chest as she looked at the tattoo-marked woman across from her. Sighing in defeat, Tsume asked "How do we do this?"

Tsunade proceeded to lay her plan out before her friend, and to Tsume's horror, it wasn't only simple, it was perfectly logical.

"So, what do you think?" Tsunade asked, and Tsume groaned as she said "It might work... Dammit."

"You worry too much, you know that?" Tsunade asked, and Tsume merely groaned again, resting her forehead against the table.

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Yuugao and Shichigoro stood before the trio of chuunin, arms crossed over their chests. Sakura was scowling at Yuugao, who merely smirked back at the pink-haired girl, raising an eyebrow as she asked "Is something the matter, Sakura-san?"

"Yes there is! Why'd you have to wake me up so early? Kakashi never..." Sakura began, but Shichigoro cut her off as she said "That's right, neither I nor Yuugao-sempai are Kakashi. We're going to be punctual to each training session, and we expect the same of all of you. Also, we will train you to the best of our abilities as equally as possible, so we expect each of you to work as hard as you can."

"YATTA!" Naruto cried, jumping in joy as he pumped his fists in the air.

Yuugao smirked as he said "Well Naruto, since you're still so excited about training, then you can lead this little squad of ours on a nice long jog."

"What!?" Sakura cried, and Yuugao looked at the pinkette as if she'd grown a second head and asked "Did I mutter? Did you misunderstand me? I said that you, Naruto, and Hinata are going to take a nice, long jog. Now you better hurry up or else you're going to have to do the jog alone."

"Wha?" Sakura turned to see Hinata and Naruto already down the street, jogging in place as Naruto waved and cried "Hurry up, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura glared at Yuugao before taking off after the other two, causing Yuugao to smirk at the pinkette's back as she said "Despise us all you like, you just better do what we say."

Yuugao looked to her teammate, who smirked and asked "So, how long do you think it'll take until the pinkette wants to murder us?"

"I give her until the end of the jog." Yuugao answered, and Shichigoro raised his eyebrows as he replied "That long, huh? I believe she's already wishing up most horrible and blood-curdling demises as we speak. Though I'm more interested if we can actually break Naruto-san's spirited love of training."

Yuugao sighed and said "If even half the stories told by Jiraiya-sama are true, then I believe that we'll run out of things to teach him long before he loses that spirited love of his."

"I do believe sensei thought she could do the same to Gai-sempai, if I'm not mistaken." Shichigoro said, and Yuugao replied "Yeah... and we both know how well that turned out."

"..."

"..."

The pair looked at one another as Yuugao said "We're going to have to be careful with Naruto-san and not go overboard with the training lest we make a THIRD Gai-sempai. The world has two to many as it stands."

"To say nothing of the fact that Tsunade-sama, Hinata-san, Sakura-san, Shizune-sempai, and Tsume-sama will kill us if we cause Naruto to start running around screaming about the 'springtime of youth' dressed in tight orange spandex." Shichigoro said.

Yuugao, however, merely smirked and said "Though I doubt Hinata-san or Tsume-sama would be too angry about Naruto dressed in tight spandex."

"Yeah..." Shichigoro looked to Yuugao and asked "Huh?"

"For a feared ANBU Shichigoro, you can be absolutely clueless sometimes, you know that?" Yuugao asked with a smile, and Shichigoro blinked, feeling left out of something, but not sure what.

Sighing, Yuugao said "Follow the brats and make sure they don't kill themselves on this jog. Wouldn't do to kill them within the first hour, would it?"

"Alright..." Shichigoro said, and proceeded to head after the three teens, easily catching up to them, and seeing that Sakura was already begin to tire.

'_Damn Kakashi, you screwed up bad with this girl..._' Shichigoro thought, his already low opinion of the former ANBU dropping further as he watched her tire more with each passing minute.

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Ino followed her father and Jiraiya as the trio hopped through the trees toward Otafaku Gai, her travel pack on her back and Chuu nestled snugly under her shirt on her back, his head peering over her shoulder so he could see where they were going.

"Chuu, you keep asking me that, and I'm going to tell Naruto!" Ino said, and listening to something, she smirked and replied "I will too! And then he'll get mad at you for being such an ero-kitsune!"

"I don't care if you've been his friend so long! He doesn't like perverts, and you are being very perverted, to say nothing of the how rude!" Ino cried, and after a few moments, she smirked and said "I thought so. Now be a good fox and stop trying to look at my chest."

Looking back quickly, Jiraiya turned to Inoichi as he asked "Uuuh... do you know what's with the fox toy? She's been talking to it for a while."

Inoichi shrugged and said "I don't know. Naruto brought it over to the house for Ino to 'care for', and I thought it was a companion cube for Naruto. At first, I thought she was just playing along with Naruto's fantasy, but now... I'm starting to worry she's starting to develop a split personality with that toy, if her interactions with it are any indication."

Glaring at their backs, Ino said "Its impolite to talk about people behind their backs daddy! And you should know better too, Hokage-sama! Can you believe them Chuu?"

Smirking, Jiraiya countered "But we're right in front of you, Ino-san. So we're not talking behind your back, you're eavesdropping on our conversation." Ino gaped at the large back of the sannin for several moments before going into a silent scowl.

"Please don't antagonize her, Hokage-sama." Inoichi said with a sigh. Jiraiya only smirked as they kept leaping toward their target. However, as he smirked to Inoichi, he kept thinking of exactly what was going to happen when they reached Otafaku Gai, and more importantly, their patient.

'_Kushina... Minato... Naruto... I've failed each of you so much, how can I ever make it up to you?_ _I should have been there to protect you from Danzou, Kushina._ _I should have sacrificed myself to seal the Kyuubi instead of you, Minato._'

Thinking of the man he thought of as a son's only child, he felt an ache in his chest as he thought '_And most importantly I should have acted as your godfather, Naruto.I should have been there to keep you safe from the likes of Danzou and even Sarutobi-sensei._'

'_How would things have turned out if I had been there for you, Naruto? Would you have been safer? Healthier? Happier? How different would your life had been if there had been even one person to watch over you, Naruto?_'

Eyes hardening, he thought '_But I'm going to start repaying those failures today, and I'm going to make sure that Danzou pays for his too._'

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A/N: Sorry for taking so long. Writer's block can be a bitch.


	14. Seals and Revelations

I do not now, nor have I ever owned Naruto.

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Jiraiya seemed uncharacteristically introverted as the trio walked into Otafaku Gai, causing Inoichi to look over at the white-haired man and ask "Is it really bothering you that much, Jiraiya-sama?"

Turning his dark eyes on the two blondes, he took a deep sigh and said "There's really no point in hiding the facts of our patient any longer, I guess." That statement caused the Yamanaka patriarch and his daughter to stop, looking at the new Hokage in stunned silence. What could be so important about the woman that he felt the need to hide it from them?

"What do you mean?" Ino asked, and looking around for potential spies, Jiraiya started walking slowly as he said "Well, our patient isn't just another shinobi. Her name's Uzumaki Kushina, and until yesterday presumed dead during the Kyuubi attack."

"Uzumaki? As in..." Ino asked, already putting the pieces together as Jiraiya nodded and said "Yes, she's Naruto's mother. That's when we believe her to have been kidnapped and tortured to weaken her resistance to the seals used on her by the traitor to 'bring her in line' so that he could control her. Normally, he doesn't bother with adults, perferring to train orphans at a very young age due to their succeptability to such things. However, her skills impressed him enough to put in the work necessary to have an adult."

Inoichi nodded as he said "Let's hurry and meet with Tsunade-sama so that we can see what exactly can be done for the poor woman."

"Does... does Naruto know?" Ino asked, and Jiraiya shook his head as he said "I doubt so, at least until we see if we can possibly heal her."

"But... why?" the younger Yamanaka asked, and Inoichi answered "Because if he were to finally find his biological mother, only to have her be little more than an empty shell, not truly alive yet not dead, it would destroy him emotionally."

Jiraiya smiled as he added "But don't worry Ino, as soon as she's better, we'll make sure the first thing we do is tell Naruto and let him meet his mother."

"Okay." Ino said, though it was clear she was still uncomfortable with hiding it from her fellow blonde.

"Jiraiya-sama, if you don't mind me asking, whose watching over Konoha while we're here?" Inoichi asked, and the white-haired sage merely smirked as he said "Don't worry about it, Inoichi-san. I've got someone watching over the council while I'm away. I wouldn't worry about anything with my guys on the job."

"Really? Who?" Inoichi asked, curious of who it was.

"Well..."

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Homura stared at the wooden desk of the Hokage, or more specifically, the Hokage's hat that was resting on the desk. Looking around, he sighed and muttered "It figures. Not even one day and Jiraiya's already gone off peeking, leaving noone in charge of the village."

"HEY! I resent that! He left me in charge!" a voice spoke from seemingly thin air. Turning to the desk, Homura's eyebrow rose as he carefully took hold of the hat and lifted it up, revealing the small orange toad dressed in a blue vest underneath it, which glared at the man in annoyance.

"Who said you could take my hat!?" the small toad cried, and Homura dropped the hat in shock as he asked "That fool actually left you in charge?!"

"Well... only partially." the toad admitted, and Homura asked "What do you mean only partially?"

"He left big bro in charge to help... But mostly only in enforcement. I'm the brains behind this set-up." the toad stated, puffing his chest out.

"Who is this... big brother of yours?" Homura asked, and a deep voice from behind him answered in a rumbling baritone "**Me**." Turning quickly, Homura found himself face to face with a large deep red toad with a bisento strapped to his back.

"Where'd you come from?" Homura questioned, and the small toad answered "He's Geroshi. He's kinda like the Akamichi... only a toad. He can get much bigger than that, but pop'll get mad if we cause harm to the office unnecissarily."

"I... I see." Homura replied, and the smaller toad grinned as he said "And my name's Gamakichi. But you can call me Hokage, or simply Gama-sama."

"**But you're only a temp while Jiraiya-san's away on business.**" Geroshi said, and Gamakichi glared at the larger toad, growling out "But I'm still Hokage, if only temporarily!"

"**You're still a temp.**" Geroshi stated, and Gamakichi huffed, his cheeks puffing out as he replied "Quit picking on me!"

"I'll... I'll just leave you two to your work." Homura muttered, slipping around Geroshi and out the office door, leaving the brothers to argue in peace.

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Looking over their three students, Yugao found herself unable to resist sighing at the sight of Sakura doubled over behind a tree, retching up her dinner from last night, while Naruto and Hinata, sweating profusely, watched their friend worriedly.

"Is she going to be OK?" Naruto asked, and Shichigoro smiled as he said "Don't worry. Happens when you overexert yourself during exercise. Just means she'll have to sit and rest for a bit." Naruto nodded as the pinkette shuffled over, still looking rather pale as she managed to sit down, rubbing her stomach, trying to stop the seeming revolution being waged within.

"Well, this was certainly an informative experience, wouldn't you agree Shichigoro?" Yugao asked, and the man nodded as he said "Definitely, Yugao-sempai."

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked, and Shichigoro answered "Namely, how exactly we're going to handle your training. We've already got the general outline of your individual training regimens decided, but watching the three of you jog, go through the standard exercise routine most genin should use, and also a light spar has helped us fine tune those outlines into a true plan."

"Hyuuga Hinata, we'll need to work on your chakra amount the most. Your endurance could use some work as well, but its not something we need to worry too much about. Also, your your catalogue of ninjutsu can also benefit from some bolstering as well, but that will be Tsunade's area. However, as expected of a Hyuuga, your taijutsu is superb." Yugao said, getting a nod from Hinata, who smiled softly from the compliment.

"Uzumaki Naruto, we'll need to work on your chakra control and taijutsu the most. Your endurance and chakra amout are both excellent. Your ninjutsu catalogue, while being small, is incredibly powerful, so while Tsunade'll be bolstering it like Hinata, it is not a necessity to do so, so we can work on the aformentioned chakra control and taijutsu." Shichigoro stared, recieving a nod from the blonde.

Sighing, Yugao turned to the still slightly pale Sakura and said "Sakura... To be honest, you're a mess. You're chakra control is the best, but your chakra amount is limited quite substantially. Also, your endurance is at the level one sees from a fresh academy student, same as your ninjutsu and taijutsu. All in all, it seems you've all but stalled in any form of real training once you graduated from the academy, save for tree walking."

Sakura looked to the ground, embarrassed by what was said, and Naruto frowned, glaring at his new senseis as he said "Hey! Sakura-chan's real smart and skilled!"

Looking to the angry blonde, Shichigoro said "Naruto, we are merely speaking the truth in regards to Sakura. While I agree that she is indeed smart, intelligence can only go so far in the world of shinobi, where life and death can hang on a split second in the middle of battle."

"Yeah, but..." Naruto began, but Sakura put her hand on the blonde's forearm as she said "Naruto, they're right. I should have taken my training more seriously."

"Sakura, while some of the blame does fall upon you, a lot of it rests squarely on Kakashi's shoulders. He should have forced you to be more serious in your training, taught you more ninjutsu, and had you doing exercise and making sure you improved. The only reason Naruto's as skilled as he is seems to be largely from self-motivation, as well as happening upon Jiraiya-sama during the month before the Chuunin Exam finals. If he had done what he was supposed to, both you and Naruto would not require have such glaring flaws fixed." Shichigoro explained.

"But don't worry, we're going to work all three of you hard, but if you do as we say, by the time we're done with you three, you will be to the standards of ANBU. I promise." Yugao said, and the trio nodded, excited by what their new senseis had said.

"Now, you three continue to rest, and once you're refreshed, we'll begin some serious physical training." Shichigoro said, both Yugao and him giving a rather dark grin to the three at this, causing Sakura and Hinata to shudder, not liking the gleam in their teacher's eyes.

However, Naruto merely smiled back, excitement brimming in his eyes.

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When the white-haired Sannin had entered the hotel room a couple hours ago, Tsume was worried about the legendary pervert leering at the woman long-believed to be dead by those who cared for her. However, from the moment he entered, he had taken on the attitude and aura of a shinobi of his status. No obscene jokes, no lecherous staring at the barely-clad woman, not so much as a hint of his infamous notebook to be seen.

In fact, it almost seemed as if the man didn't realize the seals were on a woman dressed only in her underwear, his attention moving from a seal, to a large binder of notes on seals in at least three different handwriting that was miles over her head, before returning to the seal he was working on. The only sounds coming from the large man was the flipping of pages in the binder, him muttering to himself, and ocassionally him writing and trying to decipher the seals in a black notebook.

To be honest, Tsume could see the legendary shinobi that inspired awe and fear in many hidden villages with his name alone and trained the Yellow Flash Namikaze Minato, instead of the sleazy pornographer who habitually peeked into the women's onsen wherever he was.

"Quite the amazing transformation, isn't it?" Tsunade asked, and Tsume nodded as she replied "Yeah. I'd heard of his feats and skills as a shinobi, but I never expected..."

"That the self-proclaimed 'Super Pervert' could become something like this? It's like I told you, he exaggerates who he really is, afraid to let others get too close. This is the true Jiraiya, the man they wanted to be Hokage before me." Tsunade said with a soft smile, watching her friend work.

Inoichi nodded as he said with a small smile of his own, "It seems that most of our village's strongest shinobi suffer from at least one 'abnormal' trait. Whether it be perversion, abrasiveness, or chronic laziness, strength seems to go hand-in-hand with instability."

"I'm not unstable!" Tsume growled, to which Inoichi smirked and said "Of course not. You're just incredibly abrasive. That's not an unstable quality at all..."

Tsume glared at the blonde, who kept smirking at the feral-looking woman.

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Meanwhile, Shizune sighed contently as she strolled down the street sipping her tea, accompanied by Ino with Tonton following loyally behind. Ino, ocassionally licking at her chocolate and mint ice cream cone, looked to the stuffed fox under her arm and said "No Chuu, you cannot have any of my ice cream. You don't even have a stomach, much less a working mouth to eat it with."

Looking to the young Yamanaka with concern, Shizune gently asked "Ino, you do realize that's a stuffed animal and not alive, right?"

"Huh?" Ino asked, before turning to the fox and growling "No, I will not ask her to do THAT!"

Shizune blinked as she watched Ino have a rather heated one-sided argument with the stuffed toy. And whatever they were arguing about seemed to upset Ino, which only caused Shizune to become more worried with each passing moment, due to the fact that Ino was getting genuinely upset while effectively arguing with herself. Making plans to ask Inoichi to look into his own daughter's mind, she heard the voice of a certain blonde calling out to her.

Looking up, she saw Naruto and Hinata walking toward them. Though rather sweaty and looking exhausted, Naruto seemed to still be brimming with energy, while Hinata appeared practically dead on her feet. Behind them was Shichigoro and Yugao, the purple-haired woman carrying a pale and unconscious Sakura on her back piggy-back style.

"Hey Naruto, Hinata!" Ino said with a smile, before looking to Yugao, or more specifically, Sakura with concern as she asked "Is Forehead OK?"

Smiling, Naruto nodded and said "Yeah, Sakura-chan's OK. We just got done with two hours of training, and, well... it seems that Sakura-chan isn't used to heavy training yet. Though even I'm a little tired too after the work-out they put us through."

"Torture..." Hinata murmured softly, and Naruto's eyebrows rose as he asked "It wasn't that bad, was it Hinata-chan?"

She nodded silently in acknowledgement, and Shichigoro merely sighed and said "It's not our fault you and Pinky are lightweights. We did warn you that we'd have you both up to ANBU standards, and this is only the morning workout. In fact, the only reason we've even stopped is due to your third teammate losing consciousness."

Sighing again, he muttered "She should have told us that she wasn't feeling well. Damn near killing yourself isn't going to help you get better. BOTH of you." With that, he glared at Naruto, who looked confused as he asked "What?"

"We've heard the tales of you working yourself to the point you fall unconscious. Not just once, but several times in fact. If I find out that you've done that again under me and Yugao, we will personally tie you to a bed and keep you from training for a week, maybe two." Shichigoro said, and Naruto looked at the man in horror as he cried "Yo-you can't do that!"

"We can, and we will. Naruto, we don't want to see you hurt yourself by straining your body so severely, and I'm certain not only Tsunade, but the others agree as well." Yugao said calmly, and before he could argue, Shizune cut in and said "They're right Naruto-kun. We want you to get stronger and be a successful shinobi, but we also don't want you to hurt yourself by way of repeated overexertion from such training."

Naruto looked to Hinata, who looked worried about such a thing, and sighed in defeat as he said "OK, you guys win." Hinata smiled in relief, and wrapped her arms around her Naruto in a gentle hug, causing the boy to blush and Ino to smirk.

"Oh, it appears I've missed something big between you two." Ino said, her smirk growing, which caused Hinata to realize what she was doing, and with an 'eep!' leapt away from Naruto, blushing quite profusely. Ino's smirk grew until she began snickering, causing a blushing Naruto to glare at his fellow blonde, who burst into full-blown laughter, tears streaming down her cheeks.

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Jiraiya leaned back in his chair, looking over the pages of notes he'd written in regards to the seals adorning Kushina's body. As he studied them closely, he first smirked, then chuckled, before finally bursting into a deep, booming laugh.

Raising an eyebrow, Tsunade asked "What's so funny you old pervert?"

"Well, its just that these seals are so basic in design that they're practically academic!" Jiraiya replied in between fits of laughter.

"What?! You mean we could have done it ourselves!?!" Tsume asked, and Jiraiya, taking a moment to collect himself, said "Not at all! Now, let me explain. When I say that, I mean when compared to the work of true seal masters, this stuff is basic. Whoever wrote them are indeed skilled, but I'd put their skills at intermediate at best. The connections between the four on her body is quite obvious, and the language, though technical, is still quite easy to understand for a person with sufficient knowledge of seals."

"And the one on her tongue?" Tsunade asked, to which Jiraiya replied "Completely unrelated to the others. It's a basic seal used to keep someone from speaking certain information, this one most likely regarding to Danzou and his more traitorous schemes."

"I see. But the important question is... Can you undo the seals?" Tsunade asked, and at that, any hint of humour left the Sannin's face as he sighed and said "Yes, unfortunately I need the blood of the Yondaime to do so."

"What?" Tsume asked, and Jiraiya answered "They were indeed tricky bastards. Though their knowledge of writing seals was basic, they knew enough to put a failsafe like that into it."

"So the Yondaime..." Inoichi began, but Jiraiya stopped him and said "No. Minato knew nothing of this, considering she didn't go missing until after his sacrifice, and that this work is so beneath him even insinuating that he had a hand in them is an insult to his skill. They most likely gather blood from one one of his check-ups to write these seals."

"So... We can't help her?" Tsume asked, and Jiraiya's smile returned as he said "Of course not. We've got a living resevoir of the Yondaime's blood in this very city."

"Who?" Tsume questioned, to which Tsunade, Inoichi, and Jiraiya replied "Naruto."

"Na-Naruto? As in 'Uzumaki Naruto' Naruto?" Tsume asked, Jiraiya nodding as he said "Yes."

"Whi-which means..." Tsume questioned, and Tsunade answered for her "Which means that Naruto is the only son of Minato. Which means the council not only got rid of a loyal shinobi and the Yondaime's legacy, they also got rid of the Yondaime's flesh and blood." Turning chocolate eyes onto the only other blonde in the room, Tsunade asked "Though I wonder, how do you know, Inoichi?"

"Me and Koharu released Naruto-kun's birth certificate, to let the Council and Konoha know exactly whose behind the banishment." Jiraiya answered for the man, which caused Tsunade to round on her teammate and ask "Koharu?! But she was one of the ones behind the banishment of Naruto in the first place!"

Sighing, Jiraiya crossed his arms and said "And she hated not only them, but herself for it too. She's working undercover for me so we can get rid of that bastard Danzou before he tears Konoha asunder with his despotic plans. She's been having to side with the old bastard in the Council chambers and in public so we can get the information to get him arrested and eventually executed for his crimes."

"I... I see." Tsunade said, then asked "And why didn't you trust me to help you in this plans?"

"I'm sorry, Tsunade, but there's no way Danzou would ever trust you, and it was dangerous enough with just Koharu. Besides, you're too much like sensei and your 'son' in your beliefs and attitude... well, the attitude thing is closer to Naruto than sensei, but still, the point stands. You trying to sidle up to Danzou would have resulted in him becoming suspicious, and then he'd become a clam and we'd never get the information we need." Jiraiya explained.

Looking toward his long-time crush and friend, he asked "I hope you understand."

Sighing, Tsunade nodded and said "Of course I do. I've dealt with the man enough to know that I'm decades too young for the crippled warhawk to begin trusting."

"Thank you." Jiraiya said, turning to Tsume as he asked "Would you mind getting Naruto so I can begin the unsealing?"

Nodding solemnly, Tsume said "Of course." before exiting the hotel room. With that, the trio left could only sit and wait, hoping that they could help Naruto through this newest revelation without it destroying him completely.


	15. Breaking the News and Seals

I do not now, nor have I ever owned Naruto.

Random Fanfic Trivia: When I named Tsume's deceased husband 'Kirou', I'd done so like Kishimoto named Kisame, adding 'ki' (ogre/demon) to an animal ('same' or shark for Kisame and 'rou' or wolf for Kirou). Apparently, 'kirou' is already a word in Japanese. It means, and I kid you not, "old person thrown away in the mountains". That is a cruel name. Kind of like poor Karui, which means "light, non-serious, minor".

You learn something new every day, I guess.

* * *

"WHAT?!"

Naruto stared in shock, unable to comprehend what he'd just been told. Finally, it slowly filtered into his mind, and blue eyes cut to where Chuu sat on the ice cream parlor table, glaring at the stuffed fox toy as he said "I cannot believe that you would even suggest those things to Ino-chan, Chuu! You know better than to do that to a nice girl like her!"

"See, I told you Chuu." Ino said with a smirk, which transformed into a scowl as she glared at the fox, a blush tinging her cheeks as she hissed "No, I will not tell him that!"

A pair of stunned blue eyes turned to her as he asked "What is he talking about?"

"Don't you dare!" Ino growled, and after several moments of silence, Hinata let out a gasp, her face turning dark as her hands covered her mouth, pale lavender eyes turning to Ino as she asked "I-Ino, is that true?"

Ino's own blush darkened as she muttered "He's taken it out of proportion! I was dreaming about eating a sundae with Sakura and Naruto, not that perverted nonsense he made it out to be! Don't you believe me, Naruto?... Naruto?"

Ino and Hinata turned to Naruto, whose eyes had taken a far-away, glazed look as drool flowed down his chin from his gaping mouth, mixing with the blood trickling from his nose as it dripped onto his chin from his upper lip.

"I think the fox broke him." Shichigoro said, and Shizune looked to the ANBU as she asked "You can hear it?"

"Of course! And I must say, if I were several years younger and unattached, I'd be in a similar state as Naruto." Shichigoro said, and Shizune's brow furrowed in confusion as she asked "Bu-but how? It's a toy! It can't talk!"

"Oh, but it can! You just have to know how to listen and, for lack of a better term, believe." Shichigoro answered, and seeing Shizune's dumbfounded look, he helpfully added "Also, insanity helps adults to 'believe' the fox plushie is capable of speech."

"Insanity?" Shizune asked, and the man nodded with a smile as he said "Yeah. You see, most field shinobi suffer from some form of mental illness or another. Comes with the job, I'm afraid. A person can take only so much stress before they snap, and our job is as stressful as they come."

This seemed to snap Naruto out of his perversion-fueled haze as he turned to Shichigoro and cried "Hey! Iruka isn't insane!"

Shichigoro nodded as he said "That's true, Naruto. But he also isn't a field shinobi, he's a teacher. Outside of the Oto/Suna invasion, he probably hasn't see near as much in the way of battle and death as those of us who leave the village walls regularly. Same goes for people like Tsume-sama, Hiashi-sama, and Inoichi-sama. As clan heads, they don't get sent on missions too often due to their lofty positions. Being on the council, thus being integral in the running of Konoha doesn't hurt either."

"Oh... So, you're saying me, Ino-chan, and Hinata-chan can go crazy?!" Naruto asked, horrified by the thought. Shichigoro rubbed his chin as he thought, before smiling as he said "Of course, you could already be crazy and just don't realize it yet. I mean, it's not like I'm saying your going to start making suits out of people's skin and eating their flesh. You'll probably just pick up a quirk, something that'll help you deal with the stress that's put on us as shinobi. Probably perversion for you Naruto, considering the 'oiroke no jutsu', and if Chuu is to be believed, Ino is already a pervert. Let's just hope she doesn't become as visible of one as Jiraiya or Chuu, or else Inoichi-sama will have a massive coronary."

Ino let out a rather indignant squawk and tried diving over the table, forcing Hinata and a glaring Naruto to hold her back to stop her from attempting to strangle the ANBU, who tilted his head back, roaring with laughter.

"That's not funny, Shichigoro-san!" Shizune said, Naruto nodding fervertly as he said "Yeah! Ino-chan isn't a pervert like Ero-sennin or Ero-Chuu, teme!"

"Awww, poor little Naru-kun doesn't like me picking on his girlfriend!" Shichigoro said, smirking at the pair, his laughing increased as he watched Hinata blush, looking a little sad, Naruto turn red in embarrassment, and Ino herself turn red with anger as she yelled "NARUTO ISN'T MY BOYFRIEND!"

"Could have fooled me." Shichigoro snickered, Shizune popping him on the forearm with a disapproving scowl as Hinata found herself in the unenviable position of holding back both Ino and Naruto from attempting to kill the man.

"Aaah, I see you're still making friends wherever you go, Shichigoro-chan." Tsume said as she entered the parlor and walked over to the table, eyeing the motley crew making up its occupants.

"What brings you here, Tsume-chan?" Naruto asked, and Shichigoro turned to the Inuzuka alpha female, eyebrows rose as he asked "Tsume-_chan_? Haven't heard you let a man be that informal with you since Kirou died."

Tsume frowned, pinched his cheek hard, and began pulling roughly as she said "Naruto is special, so only he can get away with it."

"Awwww, I think Tsume-sama has a crush on Naruto-kun." Shichigoro said with a smirk, rubbing his cheek after the woman released him, but his smile dipped momentarily as he noticed the woman share a look with Hinata.

Deciding to stop things before Shichigoro could start a fight with the Inuzuka matriarch, Shizune smiled to the woman as she asked "A-anyways, what brings you here Tsume-sama."

Turning to Shizune, Tsume said "Tsunade-sama needs to talk with Naruto about something." At that, Ino, Shizune, and Shichigoro realized what she most likely wanted to talk about, and Shizune turned to Hinata and said "Why don't you go with them, Hinata-chan?"

"A-are you sure its O-Ok?" Hinata asked, and Naruto smiled as he said "Don't worry about it, Hinata-chan! If kaa-san raises a stink over it, I'll stick up for you!"

Hinata blushed as she smiled softly and said "Th-thank you, Na-Naruto-kun." Watching the two stand up, Ino rose to her feet and said "I'll go too. I need to talk to daddy about something anyways."

Turning to the stuffed fox, Naruto sent it a wide smile as he said "Come on Chuu, you can go too." He picked the toy up and held it under his arm before turning to Tsume, smiling to the woman as he said "Ready to go, Tsume-chan!"

"Alright." Tsume said, a little unsure about the mysterious talking toy before exiting the parlor followed by the trio of teens and stuffed toy companion. As soon as they left the building, Shichigoro slumped back in his chair, resting his hands over his eyes as he said "I have a baaaaad feeling about this."

"You and me both, Shichigoro-san." Shizune added, returning much more morosely to her ice cream, already losing her appetite over how her beloved, annoying little brother would take this most recent revelation.

* * *

After making sure the unconscious pinkette would be fine, Tsunade shut the hotel room door and turned to Yugao as she said "It's time to 'wake' Kushina up, as it were."

"I see... So, how long until we tell Naruto?" Yugao asked, and Tsunade sighed, her already low mood dampening as she replied "As soon as Tsume returns with the brat." Seeing the look on Yuugao's face, Tsunade cut her off by saying "None of us like it, but we need his blood to break the seals. And even Naruto would be suspicious if we just walked up and asked for some of his blood."

"I know. I'm just worried what'll happen when he recognizes Kushina-sama as the waitress before Shichigoro-san took over. What can we possibly tell him?" Yugao asked, and Tsunade answered "We tell them both that she'd been captured and brainwashed into not remembering anything about her previous life, leaving her alive but useless. I refuse to tell either that she'd been there to kill her own son. Her mind'll be damaged enough as is, this might just destroy her psychologically."

Yugao nodded, and both turned to see Tsume guiding Naruto, Hinata, and Ino down the hall, the blonde jinchuuriki loudly laughing as Ino said something. Whatever it was, it caused Tsume to let out a barking laugh as Hinata giggled into her hand.

"Hey brats, what's so funny?" Tsunade asked, and Naruto turned to Tsunade, still grinning broadly as he replied "Ino-chan was telling us funny stories about Team 8 and their missions."

Jogging up to the large-chested sannin, Naruto placed his hands behind his head, his broad grin a soft smile as he asked "So kaa-san, what'd you need to talk to me about?"

Tsunade closed her eyes with a sigh and placed a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder, causing his smile to turn to a frown and his arms drop to his side as he asked "Wh-what's wrong, kaa-san?"

Opening her eyes, she looked at the younger blonde and said "Well Naruto-sochi, it seems that we've found your biological mother."

"WHAT!?! Are you serious?" Naruto yelled, eyes wide as he stared at the woman, who nodded and said "Yes, Naruto, I'm serious. We found her working here in a restaurant."

Naruto's head tilted downward, the boy sniffling as he said "I-I see. S-so the vi-villagers were right, she didn't want me." The boy's tone was so broken that the women just wanted to cuddle the boy and make him feel better.

Gripping his shoulder, Tsunade answered "That's not true, Naruto-sochi."

Lifting his head, tears streaming down his face, Naruto cried out "If she wanted me, then why is she here?! Why didn't she stay and take care of me?! Why did she leave me all alone?!"

Tsunade gather the blonde into a hug, tearing up herself as she said "It wasn't her decision to do so, Naruto-sochi. When we found her, she was brainwashed and had seals on her that locked away her mind and previous life. She doesn't remember you, your father, or even that she was a kunoichi. I'm certain that had that not happened, she never would have left you."

Naruto sniffled as he stared at the woman hugging him, looking for any hint of deception in the woman's face. After several tense moments, he asked "Re-really?"

"Of course, Naruto. That's why we had to get Jiraiya-sama, Inoichi-san, and Ino-chan to come and help her." Tsume added, and the boy blinked as he asked "Ero-sennin's here? And you let him near a helpless woman?"

Tsume broke out into a barking laugh as Tsunade smirked and replied "Don't worry Naruto-sochi. Inoichi is keeping an eye on him. And besides, I'd like to hope that the old pervert has _some_ standards."

Giving him one last squeeze of a hug, Tsunade placed Naruto back on his feet as she said "Now, let's get some of your blood so we can break the seals on you."

Naruto cried out in shock, moving into a defensive stance as he asked "W-why do you need my blood?!"

"Apparently whoever sealed her used your father's blood to make the seals. And seeing as he's no longer with us, we need the blood of his only child: you. And its not like we need all of it." Tsume said, and Naruto gulped, rubbing his arms together as his eyes darted around and he said "O-ok, just so long as that crazy blood-sucking proctor lady isn't around."

"Blood-sucking proctor lady?" Tsunade asked, and Hinata answered "Her na-name's A-Anko-san, and she pr-proctored the second po-portion of the ch-chuunin exams."

"Well, I guess that explains it." Yugao said with a sigh, rubbing her forehead as Tsunade grumbled about 'more thorough psyche evaluations when Jiraiya returned home' before saying "Naruto, noone's going to suck your blood. Now come on, we need to undo the seals so Inoichi can properly help her."

At hearing that, Naruto seemed to become serious and nodded as he said "Okay kaa-san, lets go and help her... Maybe I can learn about her and my dad too." Walking ahead, he missed three winces from the elder females, which got Hinata and Ino suspicious. But neither girl felt brave enough to ask up, and allowed them to walk before them, taking up the rear of the group.

Leaning in to the former heiress, Ino whispered "Hey Hinata, what's with Naruto and Tsunade calling each other mom and son?"

Hinata smiled softly as she answered back as quietly as asked, "I-it seems when all this started, Tsunade-sama and Na-Naruto-kun adopted one another as parent and child respectively."

Ino blinked, then smiled as she said "You know, that's actually sweet. Two lost, damaged souls meeting and finding such a connection in a time of deep crisis." Hinata nodded in agreement, staring at her blonde crush's back as he walked silently alongside Tsunade at the head of their group.

* * *

Watching his godson enter the room so somberly, Jiraiya sighed and gave a smile as he said "Hey Naruto. I guess you know why you're here already, huh?"

However, the blonde paid no heed to the white-haired sennin, his full attention on the bed, or more accurately, the unconscious redhead lying on the bed. Staring at her for several long moments in an uncomfortable silence, he finally swallowed the lump resting in his throat and asked "I-is that her?"

"Yeah, this is Uzumaki Kushina, your until recently believed dead mother." Jiraiya answered, waving the blonde over as he said "Com'ere brat, we need to get started on the unsealing. And we can't start the unsealing until I get some of your blood." Naruto nodded and walked over, never taking his eyes off the face of the redhead that appeared to be just sleeping on the bed before them.

When he was close enough, Jiraiya took hold of Naruto's wrist and lifted his hand palm up. Once he'd done so, he quickly dragged a blade across the offered palm, getting slight gasps from Hinata and Ino, and barely a flinch from Naruto, who was still staring at Kushina, his mind swimming with questions.

Gathering some of the blood in a small clear inkwell, Jiraiya said to Naruto "Alright brat, you can step back now. I need some space to work, and to be honest, you're cramping my style right there... Though not by much, you tiny brat."

Jiraiya expected the blonde to explode with rage, to start yelling denials, counter insults, and threats while waving his fists wildly as he tried to ineffectually attack him. However, the fact the blonde simply took several steps back, seemingly ignoring the opening the sennin had left for one the blonde's infamous freak outs, left everyone who knew the blonde more than a little unsettled.

"Right." Jiraiya said, pulling back the blanket to reveal that Kushina was lying there in nothing but plain white panties and bra. This got a reaction from the blonde jinchuuriki.

"Hey Ero-sennin! What do you think you're doing!" Naruto yelled incredulously, covering his eyes with an arm as a crimson blush covered his cheeks. Glad to get something from the blonde, Jiraiya sighed in faux exasperation as he said "Gaki, I need to be able to reach the seals, and unfortunately the only way to reach the seal is by leaving her in her underwear. Believe me, I'm not getting any enjoyment from this."

"Liar!" Naruto cried, and this time Jiraiya sighed in actual exasperation as he replied "Naruto, I'm a super pervert, not a sexual assaulter. If I wanted a woman to enjoy the company of, I wouldn't stoop to a comatose woman being subjugated by seals. I can get plenty of women to get naked just by walking into a room. Now be quiet and let me work brat!"

Naruto tried to glare at Jiraiya through his arm as the large man retrieved a small paintbrush and dipped it into the inkwell. Scraping off the extra blood, he bent forward and began to work, carefully writing a new seal over the original on her stomach with the blood. After drawing out the counter seal on Kushina's stomach, he ran through a series of handseals and placed his glowing hands on her stomach. As they touched her, the sound of sizzling flesh and smoke began wafting off of her stomach, her back arching and a scream tearing from her throat as the blood burned into her skin.

Hearing the pained screaming from her recently-found friend, Tsume looked between Naruto and Kushina. The whisker-cheeked blonde was paling as he listened to Kushina's cries of agony, hands clenched so tightly that his knuckles were turning bone white from the force. Reaching over, she placed a hand on his shoulder, causing his head to turn so fast she winced as she swore she heard his neck pop.

"Don't worry Naruto, she'll be OK." Tsume said, trying to give him a reassuring smile, one he returned weakly. The elder shinobi noticed it didn't meet his eyes, so he was merely humoring her for his sake. As he turned back, she looked over his head to Hinata, who was watching them.

Tsume smiled to the girl and cut her eyes from the girl to Naruto, hoping she got the message. Fortunately, the young Hyuuga was quiet intelligent, and quickly caught on, moving closer and wrapping her arms around him in a comforting hug, her face going red from embarrassment. The boy tensed momentarily before relaxing, his hands still clenched tight, though he looked much calmer than before.

Finally, after what felt like hours, but in truth was only a couple of minutes, Jiraiya leaned back, wiping sweat off his forehead on the back of his arm as he said "One down, two to go. Fortunately, that seems to be the main seal, used to reinforce the others. So with it gone, the others should be much quicker to remove."

Tsunade, seeing he was done, walked forward, working to quickly heal the rather nasty burns left on her stomach from the unsealing. As she worked, Jiraiya turned to his long-time teammate and asked "After you're done, would you mind turning her over so I can remove those seals?" Leaning closer, he whispered so only she could hear "I'd do it myself, but I'm afraid the brat would go ballistic if I did so." Having watched the blonde ocassionally during the process, Tsunade knew her friend was right, and carefully turned the unconscious redhead onto her stomach, revealing the two seals there.

Grabbing up his brush and inkwell, he began carefully inscribing the proper counter seals over both of the seals, drawing some more to connect the two. Watching him, Tsunade raised an eyebrow as she asked "What are you doing?"

"Well, since I doubt Naruto wants to listen to her scream any longer than necessary, I decided to remove both seals at once. Not to mention, with the main seal on her stomach gone, they're much weaker, and so attacking both at once will allow me to use some of the resultant energy from breaking one to aide me in breaking the other." Jiraiya explained.

"Then hurry up and do it." Tsunade said, Jiraiya nodding as he finished his work. Flashing through another series of handseals, he placed his palms on her back. Once more Kushina was thrown into a fit of screaming as smoke rose from the burning flesh on her back as he broke the two seals. As she screamed, Hinata buried her face into Naruto's shoulder and hugged him tighter, the blonde boy wrapping his arms around her and doing the same, trying to drown out the sounds filling the room.

In the back of the room, Ino had her face buried into her father's chest, the elder Yamanaka rubbing her back comfortingly. Having been a torture and interrigation expert, he was able to stand the horrible sounds of someone screaming in agony. However, his daughter, his princess, wasn't a torture and interrigation expert, and thus the sounds were like thousands of senbon piercing her flesh at once.

He knew the feeling, having experienced it during his early years as a T&I expert, and wished his daughter didn't have to experience it, especially so soon.

Finally, Jiraiya removed his hands from Kushina's back, sweat pouring down his forehead as he sat bonelessly in his seat. Tsunade, seeing he was done, stepped forward again and began working to heal the burn marks on the redhead's back.

Catching his breath, the sannin smiled to his audience and said "Well, the hard part's over."

"What about the seal on her tongue?" Inoichi asked, and Jiraiya smirked and said "Well, that is a rather simple, mass-produced seal, most likely used on every member of the group so they don't go blabbing about things the leader believes they shouldn't. Compared to the three I just broke, that'll be a quick, relatively painless procedure. And one that can wait until later. It's more important we heal her mentally first."

Returning the healed woman onto her back, Tsunade looked to Inoichi and said "Alright Inoichi-san, do your thing."

The tall blonde nodded, and disengaging himself from his daughter, walked forward and flashed through the standard handseals and muttered "Shintenshin no Jutsu". Almost immediately, his body began collapsing bonelessly, the only thing stopping him from hitting the floor being Tsunade catching him. Sitting the man in a nearby chair, Naruto looked to the former Hokage and asked "Wh-what do we do now, kaa-san?"

"Now? Now comes the hardest part, sochi." Tsunade said with a sigh.

"What's harder than listening to her screaming, Tsunade-sama?" Ino asked, and she answered simply "Waiting to see if he's successful or not."

* * *

A/N:... Yes I am an evil, evil bastard for using the infamous 'Cliffhanger no Jutsu' technique. I'll try and update sooner this time... But no promises.


	16. Into the Mind

I do not now, nor have I ever owned Naruto.

* * *

Tsunade sighed as she watched Naruto pace in circles, stopping every so often just long enough to look nervously at the prone form of Kushina before returning to his pacing. She knew that for someone like Naruto, this was as 'calm' as he would be getting before everything was resolved. In fact, he was calmer than she'd believed he would be during this.

Turning away from the pacing Naruto, she looked to the other occupants of the room. Ino was sitting next to her father, watching him for any signs of trouble in his unconscious form. On the other side of the room was Tsume and Hinata, who wer watching Naruto worriedly, Hinata stroking the stuffed fox apparently named Chuu. Jiraiya had taken a seat next to her, head leaned back and eyes closed, almost looking asleep. But she knew he wasn't, he was fully alert and only resting his eyes.

Outside the door she knew that Yugao was bringing both Shizune and Shichigoro up to speed about things, as relaying everything in the room would unecessarily agitate Naruto further.

"How long is this going to take?!" Naruto asked noone, the agitation, uncertainty, and utter frustration boiling behind his expressive blue eyes.

"We don't know, Naruto. We have no idea just how much damage has been done to her mentally, or what he's got to do to go about repairing the damage done by her experiences. All we can do is wait." Tsunade replied, sighing as she could already see the outburst in the blonde's eyes.

"But there's GOT to be something we can do! I mean, how can we just-just sit here while... while...?" Naruto began, Tsunade finishing "While your mother is laying there, her fate completely out of your hands, forcing you to trust someone else to complete a mission you want to do yourself so bad you can taste it?"

"Yeah!" Naruto cried, Tsunade sighing as she said "Unfortunately, Naruto, that's largely what any leader, Kage or not, must do. You want to do everything, fight all the battles and do all the missions, make sure noone you care for is ever put in danger, bearing the weight of the world on your shoulders. But you can't do that Naruto, you've got to learn to trust those around you, and believe in their strength like they believe in yours."

"But-but-but..." Naruto started, however he was interrupted by a pair of arms wrapping around his chest as he was pulled into a lap, a rather... soft chest pressing in his back.

"Naruto, there's no point in arguing! No matter how much you may want to, you aren't a Yamanaka so you can't enter her mind." Tsume said, gently running her fingers through the blonde spikes in an attempt to calm the agitated blonde.

"T-Tsume-sama's right, Naruto-kun. Inoichi-sama i-is a jounin, so he knows what he's doing." Hinata murmured, gently rubbing his arm to aide Tsume in calming the upset Naruto.

From beside Tsunade, Jiraiya opened his eyes enough to see his godson, muttering "Lucky little bastard. I have to pay to get women to do that for me."

"Well, he's not a noisy, lecherous old pervert. He's a noisy, friendly young piece of shotacon." Tsunade replied, standing from her seat. Noticing a slight movement from the blonde, Jiraiya followed suit, listening as Tsunade explained how they both needed a quick walk.

Exiting the room, the explaination was repeated to Shizune, Yugao, and Shichigoro, before the two legendary ninja walked away. After a few moments of silence between the two, Jiraiya smirked and said "He gets the whole 'being a shotacon' from his dad. I remember when he got his hitai-ate, he was having to fight off the girls young and old. He complained constantly about how the 'hitai-ate equals adulthood' law resulted in him never getting any peace from the women wanting to be with him."

"At least, not until he hooked up with Kushina. She and her favorite katana pretty much ensured that all women kept off of 'her property'." Tsunade said, and Jiraiya's smirk grew as he replied "And she meant it too. She even got him a tattoo of the words 'Property of Kushina' on his butt. Poor Minato never quite got over that. At least, not until Kushina got a 'Property of Minato' tattoo on her own butt."

"And how would you know that?" Tsunade asked, and Jiraiya replied "Minato told me, he was so proud of his beloved red-head. And she bitchslapped him hard on the back of the head for telling me."

The explaination got a nod from Tsunade, who became thoughtful for a few moments before she asked "So the only question left is, when they find out everything, whose going to be angrier, Naruto or Kushina?"

"I'm not looking forward to getting that answer, cause both are going to be enraged with me." Jiraiya said with a resigned sigh, Tsunade shaking her head as she said "Well, to be honest, you could have fought sensei harder than you did."

"I know, but... after everything that happened, I couldn't stand being in Konoha, and I trusted sensei to take care of Naruto better than me." Jiraiya murmured, getting a sigh from Tsunade as she said "You've learned what I did all those years ago. And in spite of it all, that brat convinced me to return to Konoha and take the damnable job myself."

"I know, I was there. And to be perfectly honest, I doubt that Naruto or Kushina could possibly hate me more than I hate myself after I learned exactly what happened to Naruto over the years while I was gone." Jiraiya replied.

Exiting the hotel onto the street, Tsunade patted her teammate's large shoulder as she said "Well, maybe you can take this opportunity to begin making up for your past mistakes."

"Way ahead of you, Tsunade-hime." Jiraiya replied, stretching his back and listening to it pop as he continued "I just hope that he'll be willing to forgive me."

"He will, Jiraiya. You know as well as me that boy has the infinite capability to forgive. Sensei knew that, and that's why he allowed as much as he did." Tsunade answered, chuckling darkly as she added "I just wish I could say the same. Then maybe I wouldn't have spent so many years lost in sake, debts, and depression, forcing Shizune to babysit me and keep me from finally killing myself."

"Well, you know what they say Tsunade-hime, hindsight makes a bitch of us all. Unfortunately I know that all to well." Jiraiya said, walking side-by-side with his one-time teammate.

"Yeah, I just hope everything turns out alright in the end." Tsunade muttered, Jiraiya grinning as he patted her shoulder and said "Don't worry Tsunade-hime, when Naruto's involved, everything somehow turns out just fine. Now, how about you and me get a couple of drinks while Inoichi works."

Tsunade smiled and said "Sounds like an excellent idea. After the past few days I've had, I could use some sake. And remember, you're buying."

"Of course, Tsunade-hime." Jiraiya said.

* * *

Shichigoro sighed as he watched Naruto lay bonelessly against Tsume, eyes glazed over and almost indecently relaxed. Reaching into his pocket, he retrieved a small bag of candy balls. Taking one out, he carefully aimed and tossed it, the small piece of candy bouncing off the blonde's forehead. The blonde blinked, shaking his head as he began getting angry, a glare already forming to be sent at the ANBU along with a select choice of words. Working quickly, Tsume ran her hand through his hair until he returned to being effectively unconscious.

"We worked hard to get him like this, and if you get him started again, I'm going to kill you." Tsume snarled, and Shichigoro raised his hands placatingly as he said "Sorry! I just wanted to make sure he wasn't dead."

"There are better ways to do that." Shizune said, and Shichigoro shrugged as he said "Yeah, but they aren't nearly as fun as throwing things at him."

Yugao sighed as she added "You are so immature sometimes, Shichigoro." Yuugao said with a long-suffering sigh, and the man replied "Yeah, but there are worse ways for the stress-induced insanity all field shinobi get to manifest itself than immaturity. Like genocidal insanity, or gaining a god complex or something."

"True, but at least they're not as annoying as immaturity." Yuugao countered, but Shichigoro argued "I agree. But which is better, being annoyed or being violently slaughtered by someone you considered a comrade?"

"Being annoyed... I guess." Yuugao replied, Tsume raising an eyebrow as she asked "How often do you two have this conversation?"

"Far too often for comfort." Yuugao said honestly, getting a sigh from Tsume as she rubbed her forehead and muttered "Dear God I hope that Kiba doesn't turn out like Shichigoro."

"Hey! I'm not that bad!" he cried, but before the Inuzuka matriarch could reply with an appropriately snarky answer, a scream filled the air, forcing everyone to look toward the rigid form of Inoichi, mouth open and already in the process of screaming again, his terrified daughter trying to calm him.

"What's happening?!" Shizune asked, and Ino answered "I-I don't know! Something must be going on inside of Kushina-san's mind, some form of mental defense or an unknown seal!"

"Well, what do we do?!" Tsume questioned, and Ino replied "We-we either search for a seal that was missed earlier, or I go into her mind and aid my dad!"

"Can't we do both?!" was the next question, and Ino nodded as she said "Yes, but I'm not sure I can be of any aide to him..."

"But can't you bring someone with you into her mind?" Yuugao asked, and Ino frowned but nodded, saying "I-I can, but it'll be difficult and dangerous. I'm... I'm just not as strong as dad is."

"I trust you, Ino-chan."

Everyone looked to the blue-eyed blonde, who'd somehow managed to slip from Tsume's grip during the proceedings and moved beside Ino, a hand placed reassuringly on her shoulder.

"Re-really?" Ino asked, and Naruto nodded with a grin as he answered "Of course I do!"

"O-Ok, I'll try... But who'll go?" Ino questioned, and Naruto immediately answered "Me."

"Don't be stupid, Naruto-kun! If we let you do this, Tsunade-sanshou would kill us!" Shizune argued, but the blonde said "Ino-chan's dad and my biological mom are in danger, and I can finally help do something! I'm going!"

"No you are not, Naruto!" Tsume snarled, glaring at Naruto, who glared back as he replied "Yes I am! I may have been helpless to do anything earlier, but now I have a chance to help her and I will!"

"Na-Naruto-kun..." Hinata murmured, and when the blonde turned to her, she lost her breath and her cheeks darkened as she saw the determination brimming within his eyes. The same determination that'd first attracted her, the indominable will that refused to be broken no matter what happened.

"Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked, and she blinked, finally remembering to breath as she looked down at her jousting fingers as she continued "I-I think that Na-Naruto-kun should go."

"Hinata-san, have you gone mental?" Shichigoro asked, and the girl shook her head as she answered "No, I-I just believe Na-Naruto-kun will succeed." Tsume turned to try to reason with the girl, but stopped as she saw the look of utter trust and belief in the girl's eyes, and looked to Naruto. And like the former heiress before her, she too lost her breath as she caught sight of the blonde, who looked so familiar to his father at the moment it was other-worldly. And, just like Hinata, she found herself believing in the blonde, same as she did in his father 13 years ago on October 10th.

"I agree with Hinata." Tsume stated finally, which caused both Shichigoro and Yuugao to stare at her in disbelief, Yuugao finding her voice first as she growled "I-I don't believe it, its actually spreading!"

"Then its settled, I'm going!" Naruto said with sense of finality, to which Shizune cried "It's most certainly not settled!"

"Please! Whoever's going, we need to help my dad!" Ino broke in, and everyone looked to the man, who seemed calm at the moment, but sweat was practically drenching his face, his unseeing eyes wide open, resembling those of a scared and wounded animal.

"Come on Ino-chan!" Naruto said, and the platinum blonde nodded, forming the necessary handseals and calling out "Conbi Shintenshin no Jutsu!"

In an instant, both Naruto and Ino went bonelessly unconscious, Ino slumping in her chair and Naruto managing to avoid landing in a heap on the floor by being caught by Tsume.

Looking to the Inuzuka matriarch, Shichigoro said "You know Tsume-sama, if this goes horribly wrong, I'm blaming you for this to Tsunade-sama."

Tsume snarled, ready to reply, but was stopped as Yugao lifted a hand and "I second that idea."

This caused her to blink and turn to Shizune for support, but the woman sheepishly smiled and said "I'm sorry Tsume-sama, but you did encourage him."

Collapsing into her chair holding the unconscious blonde, she merely sat silently for several long moments, realizing the possible consequences of supporting Naruto's decision with Tsunade should something go wrong. After the possibilities, each more horrible than the last, crossed her mind's eye, she closed her eyes with a groan and muttered "Well... Fuck."

* * *

Naruto sat on the 'ground' within Kushina's mind, his head swimming due to not being used to the shintenshin jutsu. Ino, knowing the feeling from her own training, looked around the elder woman's mindscape and blinked in surprise at how it looked almost exactly like a training ground within the walls of Konoha. The only difference being that the Hokage monument standing vigil on the mountain, which had the beginning construction of Tsunade's head, held only four faces.

Naruto, his head finally clearing, took a look around himself and blinked his eyes, studying his surroundings before looking to Ino and asking "Neh, Ino-chan, how did we get back to Konoha?"

Looking to her fellow blonde, she answered "We're not in Konoha, we're in Kushina-san's mindscape. It just so happens to look like Konoha."

"Oh."

"Come on Naruto, we need to look for daddy and your mom and see what we can do to help." Ino said, and Naruto nodded, climbing clumsily to his feet. After taking a few moments to steady himself, the two took off toward the village and the most likely place for Kushina and Inoichi to be.

---------

Walking through the streets of the 'mindscape Konoha', Naruto was stunned as the people freely smiled, waved, and wished him a good morning. Noone even sent so much as a nasty look his way when they thought he wasn't paying attention, and all Naruto could do was nod dumbly and wave weakly to the people populating the streets.

"Hey kid! Why not come and have some ramen with your girlfriend there!" came the call from old man Tuechi. Naruto turned, expecting the same homey little shack, but blanched at the sight of a well-off, two-story building in place of the stand, a younger, skinnier version of the ramen chef stood outside the store, his hat resting atop a full head of hair.

'Teuchi-jiji!?' Naruto thought as he gaped at how different the man appeared here in regards to reality. His restaurant was also much bigger, and much more popular, if the noise coming from the open door was any indication.

Ino, meanwhile, bit back a retort about Naruto not being her girlfriend and smiled as she said "Not now, I'm afraid. We have business to take care of."

"Oh well. Maybe later. If you get lucky, you'll be able to see the Hokage and his family eating here." Teuchi said, and Naruto blinked as he asked "The Hokage eats here?"

"Oh yeah, Minato-sama and his family eat here all the time! I swear if it was possible, Kushina-sama and Naruto-san would eat nothing but ramen breakfast, lunch, and dinner." Teuchi said with a chuckle. Turning, he waved a hand and said "Oh well, I'll be seeing you kids around, I've got work to do inside I'm afraid."

Ino nodded and looked to her partner to tell him to come on, but stopped at the look adorning the blonde's face. He was much paler than normal, eyes wide with his pupils dilated, and seeming close to hyperventilating, if his rapid breathing was any indication.

"Na-Naruto... You OK?" Ino asked, waving a hand before the blonde's face. However, he proved unresponsive, still staring ahead at the spot that Teuchi had previously stood, a tremor running through his body as he began sweating.

"Naruto? Naruto!" Ino cried, a hand on his shoulder forcing him to turn and face her, and that got a response from him in the form a single phrase spoken barely above a whisper "Th-the Yondaime i-is my fa-father... The Yo-Yondaime is mah-my father..."

* * *

A/N: *falls to knees and doubles over, forehead resting on the ground and arms laid before me* PLEASE FORGIVE ME! I didn't mean to take so long to post the next chapter, but things came up and I've been working on two-three other fics, two of which are already on chapter 3 and the third is still on chapter one.

I'll try to post the next chapter a lot sooner, so once more, I beg of you, PLEASE FORGIVE ME!


	17. You let him do WHAT

I do not now, nor have I ever owned Naruto.

* * *

"Naruto... Are you OK?" Ino asked, staring into the unblinking blue eyes of her companion, who was staring at the two-story ramen restaurant, mumbling incoherantly under his breath.

"Naruto? Can you hear me?" Ino asked again, but recieved no reply. Frowning, she grabbed his shoulder and shook him softly, but the blonde didn't respond.

"Naruto? Hellooo! Naruto, are you there?" she asked, shaking him slightly rougher, she still didn't receive an answer.

Frowning deeply, she finally reared a hand back and delivered a stinging slap to his cheek. This Naruto answered by letting out a surprised yelp, a hand reaching up instinctively to grab his cheek, which now sported a large red handprint.

Turning a glare on his agressor, he rubbed his stinging cheek and yelled "What was that for?"

"You had become incoherent, your eyes having gotten the thousand-yard stare. I had to do something to snap you out of it." Ino replied, and Naruto's sigh as he said looked away and muttered "Oh... Sorry about yelling at you, Ino-chan."

"Don't worry about it." Ino said, and Naruto smiled as he replied "Thanks... But... but my father is the Yondaime Hokage. I can't believe it."

"I couldn't either when I'd first learned about it myself." Ino stated nonchalantly, and Naruto stared at her in shock and betrayal as he asked "Y-you KNEW!"

"Well not always! Only after Jiraiya-sama released the information to the public of Konoha!" Ino quickly answered, not liking the look on her friend's face, and Naruto blinked and said "Oh... So, everyone knew but me?"

"Well, Forehead, Hinata, and Tsume-sama didn't know." Ino replied, and Naruto nodded as he said "Oh, OK... Well, let's go help your dad now. I'll worry about the Yondaime later."

It was Ino who blinked this time, before a grateful smile crossed her face as she sniffled and said "Th-thanks, Naruto."

"No problem." Naruto said, turning and taking a deep breath before heading toward the Hokage Tower, hoping to find Kushina and Inoichi there.

* * *

_**"YOU LET HIM DO WHAT?"**_

Tsume winced, trying to use the unconscious Naruto as a shield from the rather deadly glare Tsunade was sending her way as Jiraiya stood nearby, looking upset but nowhere as destructively angry as the Slug Sannin. Because while she was brash and somewhat arrogant, as well as being a jounin, she was neither stupid nor suicidal enough to face Tsunade's wrath without something to protect her from punches wielding enough strength to destroy the Hokage Tower in one blow, much less antagonize the woman when she was already feeling homicidal.

And she wouldn't be expecting help from her traitorous 'associates', whom had all left her alone as soon as Tsunade entered the room. All except Shizune, but she was cowering uselessly in the far corner of the room, watching her mentor warily. She obviously wasn't going to get involved until Tsunade's anger had blown over, and then only as far as healing the poor soul who Tsunade was going to maul.

And none of them doubted that before she calmed, Tsunade was most likely going to maul someone.

"I can explain, Tsunade-sama..." Tsume began, but was cut off as Tsunade growled out "I don't want to hear it, Tsume! You allowed Naruto and Ino to run headlong into a situation they're nowhere near prepared for and that even a master Yamanaka such as Inoichi couldn't handle! That was reckless, not to mention dangerous! Of all the stupid, insane things I've ever heard..."

"Tsunade-hime, it won't do any good to kill Tsume, at least until we can fully hear her side of the story anyways." Jiraiya said, placing a hand on his team mate's shoulder.

Taking a deep breath, Tsunade released it slowly as she replied "Of course, Jiraiya. She obviously has a good excuse for letting Naruto run headlong into such a situation without trying to stop him."

Tsume gulped as she eyed the two powerful shinobi standing before her, mentally preparing her will as she began "We-well, you see, it's like this..."

* * *

Yuugao sighed as she, Shichigoro, and Hinata sat hiding in the hotel room with the sleeping form of Haruno Sakura, who was currently drooling on her pillow. Yuugao and Shichigoro were both sitting in chairs at the small table while Hinata alternated between sitting on the bed and pressing her fingers together or pacing the floor and pressing her fingers together.

"You know Shichigoro, I feel bad about leaving Tsume all alone against an angry Tsunade and an assured to get angry Jiraiya." Yugao said, looking to Shichigoro, who shrugged and asked "I do too. But what choice did we have Yuugao?"

"We could have stood beside her as loyal comrades. You know, like the saying goes 'those who disobey orders are trash, but those who abandon comrades are below trash'. And we did kind of just abandon a comrade back there." Yuugao replied, and Shichigoro nodded as he said "True, but I believe this could be an exception."

"How so?" Yuugao asked, and Shichigoro answered "Because a shinobi who foolishly throws away his life is a poor shinobi indeed. And trying to defend Tsume's actions from an irate former Hokage and a soon to be irate current Hokage, not to mention two-thirds of the Densetsu no Sannin is foolishly throwing away your life, no way to look about it."

"Yeah, but still Shichigoro. Maybe we should have tried to bring Tsume with us." Yuugao said, to which Shichigoro stated "And have a Tsunade whose growing increasingly angrier chasing us across this village? Do you know the danger that'd put the innocent civilians in, not to mention the property damage?"

Yuugao's imagination took hold, and her face paled considerably as she said "I didn't think of that."

"I know it seems cruel what we did to Tsume, but unfortunately it was the best we could do in the situation. Besides, I'm sure Tsunade won't hurt her... too severely."

* * *

As the pair walked, Ino would look to her companion ocassionally, the blonde staring around as if stunned by the goings-on that were happening about them. Ino frowned, not finding anything out of the ordinary. In fact, if she hadn't known better, she would have sworn that she was back home.

"Naruto, what's wrong?" Ino asked as she placed her hand on his shoulder, and Naruto's head turned to her so quickly she winced, having heard the pops his movement caused. However, he quickly calmed as he saw it was her, and sighed as he relaxed.

"Nothing, it's just that..." Naruto began, and Ino finished "It's just that you're not used to not getting glares as you walk the streets."

"Eh? How... when... how..." Naruto gaped, and Ino smirked as she replied "Just because I seem like a worthless idiot doesn't mean I am, baka. Now come on, we need to hurry and find daddy as quickly as we can and help fix Kushina-san." Naruto, still staring at her, nodded numbly and the two continued their trek toward the tower in silence.

* * *

Sitting in the darkness of Akatsuki's hideout, Pein sat with his hands folded in his lap and eyes closed, listening to the silence of his surroundings. He found this rare moment of silence and stillness peaceful, and allowed him to pretend that the world was peaceful and that his divine wrath was required. That he, Yahiko, and Konan were together again, that Yahiko had not been killed by the hatred and pain of this world.

However, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat, causing ringed eyes to open and look to the person interrupting his peace. Looking to the interloper, Pein saw it was the orange spiral-adorned mask of Akatsuki's true leader, Uchiha Madara.

Bowing his head, the orange-haired man asked "What do you need, Madara-sama?"

"Why Pein, what makes you think I need something? Can't I just come and say hello?" Madara asked, feining hurt behind his mask. Pein replied by staring blankly at the man, a pierced eyebrow raised quizzically.

"Right. Anyways, I need of you and Konan to dispose of someone for me." Madara said, and Pein nodded as he asked "Whom am I to 'dispose' of, Madara-sama?"

"Oh, noone important. Just your former sensei Jiraiya of the Densetsu no Sannin." Madara replied casually. The masked man had hoped to recieve some form of outburst or reaction from the man he was talking to, but was disappointed by the calm that remained over him.

"Very well, Madara-sama." Pein said, and behind his mask Madara smiled as he said "Thank you, Pein. And do try to make it seem as if Iwa commited the crime."

"Of course, but may I ask why, Madara-sama?" Pein asked, and Madara answered "Because if we can get Iwa and Konoha into another war, they'll be much less likely to have the ability to focus on their foolishly free-ranged Jinchuuriki and his little team. Then we can swoop in, capture him, and extract the Kyuubi with none being the wiser. Understand?"

"Clearly."

* * *

As the two walked, Ino frowned as the silence surrounding them grew more and more uncomfortable with each passing second, seemingly intent on crushing both of them. She'd tried to ignore it by looking at the people around her, but the lack of her companion's usual bubbling cheerfulness was really beginning to get to her.

Finally, after several long minutes, she couldn't take it anymore and broke the uncomfortable silence by asking "So, Tsunade-sama's decided you're her 'son' and you've decided she's your mother, huh?"

Smiling, Naruto nodded and said "Yeah, but she can be really embarrassing sometimes."

Ino nodded and replied "I know, right? Daddy says it's a 'parent's perogative' to do so in regards to their children. He also said it was a source of amusement for parents to embarrass their children. I think he just likes pestering me for no reason!"

Naruto sighed and said "Kaa-san says the same thing... Then she started pinching my cheeks and telling me how cute I am when I get all 'pouty'."

This recieved a giggle from Ino, which caused Naruto to glare at her as they finally stopped in front of the tall red tower that housed the Hokage's office. Gulping, Naruto looked to Ino with a nervous smile as he asked "Ready to go, Ino?"

"About as ready as you are Naruto." Taking deep breaths, the pair pushed open the door and walked into the reception floor of the tower, looking around at how familiar it seemed, yet at the same time subtly different, which included rather large seal stationed in the center of the floor. After taking in their new surroundings, the pair walked up to the receptionist's desk, who smiled and said "Hey kids, how may I help you today."

Smiling back, Naruto rubbed the back of his head and laughed nervously before he asked "Yeah... Do you know where kaa...shina is?"

"Kaashina?" The receptionist asked, raising an eyebrow. Ino smiled and said "He means Kushina. He gets his words scrambled when he gets nervous."

"Do you mean Namikaze Kushina?" she asked, and Naruto nodded as he replied "Yeah! Her!"

"What business do you have with Hokage-sama's wife?" was the woman's next question, a delicate eyebrow rising as she started at the teens before her suspiciously.

Swallowing, Ino felt herself growing nervous as she answered "We-well... we have something important to discuss with her."

"Oh... I see." The woman said, and casually turned in her chair, pressing a button on the underside of her desk once her back was to the pair. Within moments, several ANBU appeared around the desk, weapons at the ready and all eyeing the duo suspiciously.

"Shit." Naruto muttered, fighting down the reflex to draw a kunai to protect himself as he and Ino looked around at the masked shinobi surrounding them. However, their attention was diverted from the ANBU as a flash of yellow light appeared in the center of the room on top of the large seal in the center of the floor, Heads snapping to the source, both stared in stunned silence at the new figure in the room.

He was tall, dressed in the standard Jounin uniform with a white trenchcoat trimmed in red flames, and had a rather slim face framed by long, spiky blonde hair, a pair of familiar blue eyes taking them in warily, similar to a predator studying his prey. In his right hand was a three-pronged kunai, the left clenched in a fist as he spent several moments looking at them.

"The Yondaime..." Naruto and Ino muttered, staring at the man in awe, and in Naruto's case, a combination of pained longing and betrayal.

Finally done with his inspection, Minato turned to one of the ANBU around them and asked "What's going on here?"

"It seems we have two more suspicious individuals looking for you wife, Hokage-sama." the ANBU answered with a nod, and the man nodded back before turning his eyes back on the two.

"I see." Minato replied, eyes locked with Naruto, who was staring back.

"What do we do with them, Hokage-sama?" the ANBU asked, and Minato shook his head, cleaning out the cobwebs before he answered "Bring them up to my office, let me try talking to them. See what exactly is going on and what they want with my wife."

As he and Ino were lead by the ANBU up toward the office Naruto had visited hundreds of times when jiji was Hokage, Naruto could only swallow, wondering what else could possibly happen.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for taking so long, but you know how things can be. I'll try to be quicker with my next update, but no promises. Though I do promise niether _Darker Than the Ocean's Depths_ **or** _Consequences of a Lie_ are abandoned. It'll just be a while before their next updates. Particularly Darker.


	18. Knew It Wasn't That Easy

I do not now, nor have I ever owned Naruto.

* * *

Naruto fought the urge to fidget as he and Ino found themselves seated in an office he'd visited many times over the years. Only instead of the familiar, comforting form of the grandfatherly Sandaime Hokage smiling back at him across the desk, it was the frowning, imposing form of the legendary Yondaime Hokage, a man he'd just found out was his father.

"Now, why exactly do you want to see my wife?" Minato asked, looking from Naruto to Ino and back again.

"We... we just wanted to talk to her, that's all." Ino replied, giving a rather nervous smile and, in Naruto's opinion, looking rather obviously suspicious.

"OK, and what was it you needed to talk to her _about_?" was his next question, and Ino replied "Just... just have something important to tell her, nothing more."

"And what is this important information you have for her?" Minato questioned, to which Ino gulped and murmured "You-you wouldn't believe us if we told you..."

"Try me." Minato said, and Naruto gave a frustrated grunt as he replied "Her life and this world is fake! You're fake, this world's 'Naruto' is fake, Teuchi's fake! Everything's fake fake fake fake fake fake!"

"Naruto!" Ino cried, Minato staring at the blonde for several long moments before he asked "Everything's 'fake', is it?"

"Yes! Everything is fake!" Naruto cried at Minato, who leaned against the desk as he said "I see..."

Sighing, Minato picked up the phone, dialed in a number, and said "Hello, this is Minato. I need you to come and help a couple of kids who are having a bit of trouble. Yes, yes, they're in my office. No, they're not dangerous."

At that, Ino paled as she looked to Naruto and whispered "Naruto... I-I think he's calling someone to take us away!"

"What?" Naruto asked, then turned to Minato and dove over the desk toward the phone in an attempt to get it away from him. However, the man merely swung a hand and backhanded the blonde away, sending him rolling across the floor before skidding to a stop.

Naruto rose to his feet, holding his aching cheek as he glared at Minato and prepared another attack, only for the blonde man to level a glare at him as he asked "Are you insane kid? I could easily have you executed for a stunt like that! Are you really looking to die?"

Naruto turned his head to the side and scoffed as he muttered "Pfft, yeah right! You can't kill me because nothing here is real! It's all a figment of kaa-san's imagination."

"And who is this 'kaa-san' whose imagination I'm a figment of?" Minato asked, and Naruto answered "Uzumaki Kushina."

"So, you're the son of my wife, and I'm apparently a figment of her imagination, correct?" Minato asked, to which Naruto nodded and said "Yeah! That's why we need to convince her this isn't real and have her wake up!"

"OK..." Minato said with a nod of his own, one which Naruto quickly realized wasn't for him. He turned, only to feel a hand touch the back of his neck, causing his body to freeze in place. Ino started to stand, but she froze in place too, slumping back into her chair, eyes searching the room wildly.

Sighing, Minato looked to the two men dressed in long white robes as he said "Gentlemen, please take them to the psych ward of the hospital, they're obviously ill and require help. See to it that they get it."

Naruto struggled to force his body to move as he felt himself picked up and slung over a shoulder, the same happening to Ino behind him as Minato sighed and rubbed his forehead, muttering "First a man disguised as Inoichi tries to assault my wife, and now this."

_'Daddy?'_ Ino wondered as she and Naruto were taken away by the white-robed men.

* * *

"LET ME GO DAMMIT!" Naruto yelled as he twisted and turned, trying to break free of the straitjacket they'd forced onto him, kicking his legs against the padded floor under him.

"Quiet down!" one of the guards for the ward called through the small viewing window, causing Naruto to pause and glare as he replied "Then let me go! I'm not crazy!"

"Yeah yeah..." the guard muttered before shutting the viewing window, and Naruto kept yelling as he listened as the man's muffled footsteps slowly faded away. Once they disappeared completely, he laid on the floor, closing his eyes as tears begin trickling down his cheeks and he forced himself not to begin crying. This wasn't the time to be crying!

Sniffing, he shook his head and struggled to his feet, once more twisting and turning, hoping to break free of the damn straitjacket.

* * *

In her own padded cell, Ino sat slumped against the wall, sobbing quietly, banging the back of her head against the wall behind her. Her dad was most likely being tortured, and until Kushina let them go, they couldn't escape due to the pure strength and duration of the fantasy. The only way they could get out was for Kushina to recognize this wasn't reality, but a figment of her imagination.

But how could they possibly do anything with all three of them were captured?

* * *

Minato sighed as he leaned back in his chair, eyes closed and rubbing his forehead in an attempt to stop the headache before it could begin full force. However, his attempt to stop his headache ended as he heard the door to his office open, causing him to open his eyes and look toward it. But before he could tell them he wasn't taking visitors right now, he saw who it was.

A woman with long red hair and violet eyes, dressed in a loose-fitting dress and an apron and being followed by a blonde-haired, blue-eyed teen whose facial features resembled Minato, dressed in a black t-shirt under a chuunin vest and black slacks.

"Hey Kushina-chan, Naruto-kun, what are you doing here?" Minato asked with a weary smile, and Kushina moved over to him, draping her arms over his shoulders and resting her chin on top of his head as she said "We heard what happened to you today and wanted to make sure you were OK."

Minato sighed, patting her arm as he said "Kushina-chan, I'm OK. It was just a couple of highly unstable genin who seemed to think everything was a figment of your imagination and the boy was your son. The boy even tried to attack me when I was calling the medic nin to come see to them!"

"Sounds stark raving mad to me." Naruto replied, and Kushina sighed and said "Poor kids, they just couldn't handle the life of a shinobi. At least now they can get the help they so desperately deserve."

"Hmmm." Minato said, looking to the younger blonde as he asked "So Naruto-kun, how was your day."

"Me and Sasuke just hung out, trained a little with Kakashi-sensei, you know the usual." Naruto said, and Kushina smiled as she said "You and Sasuke have practically been joined at the hip since you were babies."

Minato suddenly smiled and said "Hey Kushina-chan, what're you making for dinner tonight?"

"Oh, I think I'm just gonna surprise you." Kushina said, and Minato faked a pout as he said "But Kushina..."

"That doesn't work on me Minato, and you know it." Kushina replied, Minato sighing as he rested his head in his hand and looked to Naruto with a smile and asked "So Naruto, how has your work on the Hiraishin been going lately."

"Hard."

"I know, but think about it this way; you're only learning it, I had to create it!" Minato said, Naruto smirking as he replied "Yeah, but I'm gonna improve it."

"I don't doubt it, you are my son after all." Minato said, reaching across the desk and ruffling the blonde locks so much like his own. "Now, let's head home so Kushina-chan can get to cooking us another delicious dinner."

"YATTA!" Naruto cheered, Kushina laughing as she said "I think he loves my cooking more than you do, Minato-kun."

"I doubt that." Minato said, standing from his chair and stretching before wrapping an arm around Kushina's waist as he added "Come on, let's go."

* * *

Yawning, Naruto blinked his bleary eyes as he sat up and stretched his arms over his head. Smacking his lips slightly, he looked around the room he was currently residing in as he absently scratched his stomach as he muttered "Huh, when did I go to sleep?"

After a few moments, his eyes widened and he stared down at himself, realizing he was freed from the straitjacket, which was laying nearby. Further investigation brought the discovery of a single, three-pronged kunai laying near him.

Picking it up, Naruto turned it in his hands as he carefully studied it, trying to remember where exactly he'd seen this particular style of kunai before. He knew he'd seen it somewhere, but couldn't for the life of him remember where that was.

After several moments, he shrugged and stood to his feet, stretching out his body and groaning as joints the jacket had restricted popped from sudden use before slipping the three-pronged kunai into his back pocket.

"Now, how do I get out of this room?" Naruto wondered aloud, looking at his surroundings before his eyes settled on the door, and seemingly only way to get out of the room. Shrugging, Naruto walked over to it and carefully tried it, pushing on it just enough to see it was indeed opened.

He had to stop himself from letting out a cry of joy at his discovery, and pushed it open far enough to peak out into the hallway. Not seeing anyone down one way and not hearing anyone making a commotion due to the door opening. Carefully slipping out the door, he shut it closed and looked around the hallway, crossing his arms as he muttered "Where the heck are they keeping Ino-chan?"

After several seconds of waiting, he realized that his current string of good luck had come to an end, and the answer wasn't going to be given to him. Slumping slightly, Naruto sighed, pouting as he muttered "Dammit."

Quickly straightening up, he braced himself and nodded to noone in particular, saying "Well, looks like I'm gonna have to find Ino myself."

He then snickered silently and said "Hehe, finding a pretty girl trapped in a strange place surrounded by enemies without help and limited supplies. This is like one of those awesome ninja stories Jiji used to tell me!"

As he began moving silently down the hallway, he smirked and thought _'Don't worry Ino-chan, this particular story starring Uzumaki Naruto is going to have a happy ending, dattebayo!'_


End file.
